Uprise
by Shadow Wasserson
Summary: The Avatar after Aang inherits a world taken over by the Fire Empire, where rebels plot and corruption runs rampant. But sometimes great power can lurk in unlikely places. AU. Based off of Hotspur's 'Downfall.'
1. Child's Play

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon. Many of the characters and concepts here belong to Hotspur, and are borrowed with permission.

A/N: Okay, so, this is the first chapter of my first big story. It's very nerve-wracking to be writing this, but also exciting, woo-hoo!

**This story is based off of the AU built up by Hotspur in her epic fanfiction, "Downfall." If you are confused, go read it; it's awesome!**

Thanks so much to Hotspur for letting me play around with her characters, and for all her wonderful advice!

* * *

**Chapter 1: Child's Play**

As a baby, Zhi was a joy.

Zhi was a good girl, a sweet girl, full of laughter, joy and curiosity. She was a pleasure to be around, and was rarely naughty. She learned to speak early and ate most of the food placed before her. But most of all, she was always good at bath time.

While her sister Yi would cry and fuss and squirm at the touch of bathwater, Zhi giggled and splashed, kicking her little feet through the suds.

"Bathtime, my loves," crooned Ying, and Zhi's grin was as wide as Yi's frown wasn't. The two babies were placed side by side in the washbasin, and Ying grabbed the bar of potash soap and began to scrub, whistling an Earth Kingdom ditty as she did so. Yi wriggled to get out of the way, but Zhi shrieked with glee.

"Mama mama blebble ya ah," she babbled, and, without any further warning, thrust her arms out.

The water in the tub, seemingly of its own accord, suddenly leapt out of the basin and threw itself at Ying. She only had a moment to throw her arms up before the water struck her. Zhi began laughing hysterically, and the thin wail of Yi's crying split the air.

Ying, soaking wet, could only stare.

* * *

At four years old, it became clear that Zhi was different.

"Zhi!" Ying cried, looking in shock at her daughter, who was covered in mud and up to her tiny knees in freezing creek water. Her heart leapt into her throat. "_What_ are you doing?"

Zhi, who looked quite unperturbed by her state, replied calmly; "I'm just playing."

Ying swooped down and picked the tiny girl up from the banks, cradling her filthy form to her chest. "Zhi, you must never do that again! You could drown!"

"I won't drown." Zhi looked over her shoulder, not seeming to listen. "Mama, put me down. I want to play with Aang."

"No! You can't play with Aang!" Ying, frankly, was starting to become tired of her daughter's imaginary friend, especially if she was going to use it as an excuse to do dangerous things.

"But I want to play with the water with Aang."

Well, if she was going to be stubborn, then Ying would need to be firm. "Aang doesn't exist. And if I see you playing in the stream again, you won't get any sugar candy for a week!"

Zhi looked stricken. "No, Mama!"

Ying put her daughter down. "Then no playing alone by the stream. Okay, Zhi? Never again."

Zhi looked at her feet. "Yes Mama," she finally mumbled.

"Good." Ying breathed a sigh of relief, and led Zhi back to their home, not noticing the way her daughter glanced over her shoulder at the stream, or the look in her blue eyes when she waved goodbye to a friend left unseen.

* * *

"Your Royal Eminence."

The Fire Emperor, His Most High, The Chosen of Agni, Lord of Flame, the most powerful man in the world, was a nervous wreck. He looked up at the healer anxiously, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and trembling slightly.

"Well?"

The healer smiled. "A healthy baby girl."

The breath came out of Fire Emperor Zuko in a great whoosh. "Hyun?"

"She is well, but very tired."

"I wish to see her. And our child."

"Of course." The healer nodded and bowed deferentially, indicating the room where the Fire Emperor's wife had just given birth.

"My Husband," Hyun whispered, her voice ragged and quiet after her long labor. "Look at her. Look at what we did."

_You did more than I,_ thought Zuko, as he motioned for the midwife to bring over the small bundle of crying red blankets she carried. At the sight of what they held, the Emperor let out a long, low sigh, and put his hand on his wife's shoulder. "Oh, Hyun. She is beautiful."

"You are not displeased? That it is a girl?"

"How could I be displeased? Look at her. She is a gift from Agni."

Hyun smiled, and despite his wife's perspiration and his child's cries, Zuko was certain that he had never seen a more beautiful sight, mother next to daughter. "I'm glad you agree, Husband," she said.

They stayed there that way for several long moments, transfixed by the tiny fists, the button nose, the soft fuzz of black hair. Then the Emperor spoke. "Ary. We need to bring in Ary, and Uncle."

The servants quickly led in the yawning young boy and the old man, who immediately rushed over to the bedside. "Ahh, What a delightful child," murmured Iroh, giving her his finger to squeeze. "And what a strong grip! I'm sure you will grow up to be a great warrior, won't you?" He turned to Zuko, his eyes gleaming with grandfatherly glow. "What will you name him?"

"Her," said Zuko, "and I haven't decided yet. Perhaps Mei. That is a good name."

"Yuri," offered Hyun. "Because she is as beautiful as a panda lily."

"Yuri…" murmured Zuko. "It's perfect. Ary. Come here. Look, this is Yuri, your new sister." As the boy walked over, a look of bliss came over the Emperor's face. "I'm a father. I'm a father."

"You already are a father, Father," said Ary, peering at the funny looking baby in the blankets. But the adults weren't listening. All had fallen under the baby's spell.

* * *

Something was wrong. The small blind girl tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brow, listening carefully. Outside the walls of the garden, almost at the edge of her earth-sight, were feet. Hundreds of marching feet, coming closer. Her muscles tensed underneath her fine robes. What was that?

Someone had run up to the gates to the estate and was knocking desperately. Something important was happening, which of course meant…

"Miss Bei Fong," murmured one of the ever-present servants. "Please, there is someone here to see your father."

"Of course," said Toph, and allowed herself to be led back into the manor, passing her father rushing out on way. Whatever was happening, it wouldn't interest the Bei Fong's poor disabled daughter, and besides, it might be dangerous. She would be better off inside.

Inside, the servant passed Toph to her mother, who embraced her daughter, stroking her thick dark hair. "It's alright," she lied. "Whatever it is, I'm sure your father will take care of it." She led her daughter to her room and closed the door. "Stay in here while I go to see what all the fuss is about, okay, darling? Everything's going to be fine."

But no sooner had her mother's feet left the doorway than Toph had torn a hole in her fine marble floor and started tunneling downward and towards the garden gate. Whatever was going on was important, and she would not be left out of it!

Toph stopped directly under the feet of her parents and the stranger and pressed her ear to the dirt ceiling above her, listening for the faint vibrations of voices. Her father was speaking.

"….give them no reason to become violent. If Ba Sing Se has fallen, then we will not stand in the way. I shall be happy to acknowledge the Fire Nation as our overlords, so long as the merchant lanes are kept clear."

"Yes, Lord Bei Fong. Shall I then tell the General that the soldiers are welcome to stay in Gaoling?"

"Tell them anything, so long as we are kept safe. If the war is over, it does not matter who is in power. It will still be the same for us."

"But Lao," spoke up Toph's mother. "Can we be sure that they will not seek to take us by force? They are Fire Nation, after all."

"I will offer the General hospitality within my own home to gain his trust, if need be. We can weather this storm, if we play wisely. It may even prove to be a boon, if it means extended supply lanes into the Fire Nation." Lao Bei Fong's weight shifted towards the messenger. "Now go! Speak to them before they decide that we are a threat!"

The messenger ran off, and Toph's parents began walking back to the manor. Toph stayed still for a moment, so surprised by what she had heard that she almost forgot that she was supposed to be in her room. She rushed back to the house, skating over the earth so quickly that she nearly overshot the hole in the floor. She crawled through and replaced the floor tiles just in time for her parents to return.

"Toph!" her mother cried. "Why, you're filthy!"

"Oh?" said Toph quietly. "Am I? I didn't notice."

Lao had been right about one thing. Life didn't change after the occupation, at least for a short while. But later that week was Toph's earthbending lesson with Master Yu, and though she resignedly dressed in her earthbending uniform, he didn't show up.

"Father," she asked. "Where is Master Yu? Has the lesson time been changed?"

Lao leaned over and put his arm around his daughter "No, Toph. You won't be having lessons with Master Yu anymore."

Toph frowned. She did not enjoy her dreadfully easy lessons, but they were at least a break from the horrible tedium of life at the Bei Fong manor. "Why?"

"Master Yu is a bad man, and he has been arrested."

"What? Why?"

"It doesn't matter," lied Lao. "But it's probably all for the best, anyway. We'll get you a new teacher, once things settle down."

He left Toph to her thoughts. Why had Yu been arrested? Did it have anything to do with the Fire Nation coming? It had to, there was no other explanation. But if Yu was gone, then what about…

Toph's blood ran cold. No. They couldn't be gone. They wouldn't take all the earthbenders, would they? No, that made no sense. She'd have to check. She'd check that very night.

But when she tunneled into the underground arena, no one was there, and there were marks of a struggle. Overturned rocks and disturbed earth, loose stones strewn anywhere. Even the arena itself was off-kilter, the signature move of the Hippo. They were gone. No one was left. The Blind Bandit was alone.

* * *

When Zhi was seven, the school was founded for the edification of all young members of the blossoming Fire Empire. Attendance was mandatory, so even though Zhi and Yi were helping now in their father's carpentry shop, they went. There, they learned reading and writing, math and science, and those few who showed any earthbending talent were separated out from the others. Then, of course, there was History.

"This year," said their teacher, "marks the seventh anniversary of the end of the Hundred-Years War, when the great Fire Emperor toppled the walls of Ba Sing Se and brought the Earth King's tyranny to a halt. Today, we live and prosper under the good graces of Lord Devdan and the Fire Emperor Zuko. Our current peace is to the credit of their wise leadership, for all warmongers have been defeated.

"We will be putting on a play in honor of their accomplishments and the coming of the great comet that allowed us to achieve this victory. Who wants to play the part of Fire Emperor Zuko?"

Every hand flew into the air.

* * *

Summer in the Fire nation was hot. Very hot. Not hot like the Si Wong desert, where any exposed skin fried red and the rain was said to dry up before it hit the ground. The heat of the Fire Nation was like a cloak, seeping into every pore and pasting one's clothes to one's skin with sweat. But summer in the Fire Nation was at least free of the winter's monsoons.

The boy by the stormy window wore a golden crown and scarlet robes, and could almost be mistaken for any one of many nobles that frequented the Palace of Azar. But no other boy had Ary's sea-blue eyes, or skin the color of clay.

Ary sighed as he watched the rain fall. He hated the rain. He couldn't ride rhinos through the grounds when it rained, or do anything really, not without ruining his fine clothing. And he couldn't watch the guards practice their firebending. Watching them was one of his favorite activities, though not one he would easily admit to. Firebending was _Royal_, it was _proper_, and more than anything else, he wanted it. He wanted to know that power, and he wanted to see the look on Father's face when he saw that his son, his _son_, could firebend, even though his daughters still could not. But he knew, as he watched the soldiers' lights dance, so close to death but not quite, that it was one thing he would never have, not with all the riches of the world at his disposal.

Ary glanced to either side. He was alone in the corridor for once, having given his guards the slip. Perhaps he could…

Ary closed his eyes and visualized the soldiers, sinking down into a firebending stance. He stepped forward and kicked, _ha!_ Extend the arm and _ha! ha!_ He imagined the flames whirling around him, obeying his every command. _Ha!_ A tingling feeling flowed through Ary's limbs, pulling at him, and he pulled back, fantasizing that the flames were roaring up, out of control! He pushed and pulled at them, bringing them back, and felt… something.

Ary opened his eyes, and saw the raindrops rushing around him, in through the window and flowing around his limbs, following his motions. No, no, not _water! _Ary immediately dropped his arms in horror, and the rain fell in a downpour on his head, soaking him instantly. He looked around, mortified. No one had seen him, had they? No one had seen…

No, no one. Ary looked unhappily at his ruined robes, and slowly turned to trudge back to his room to get cleaned up. He hated the rain.

* * *

When Zhi was nine, she shared it.

"Yi, look, I want to show you something."

It was after school, and Yi was tired. "What? Show me tomorrow."

"No, now. Come on!" Zhi grabbed Yi's arms and began pulling her away, leaving her little choice but to follow.

"This had better be good."

"It is. It's a secret."

At the word _secret_, Yi immediately perked up. "What is it?"

"Come on and I'll _show_ you."

Zhi dragged Yi into the copse of trees behind the house and through the woods. "Where are we going?" asked Yi fearfully. "Zhi! Where are we going?"

They finally came to the stream, which was full to brimming with snowmelt and running quickly. "Here." Whispered Zhi. "Here. Don't tell anyone, okay? It's a secret."

"I knew about the stream," said Yi. "We aren't supposed to be here. We'll get in trouble."

"Look." Zhi waded into the water, not even bothering to hike up her dress.

"Zhi! Stop it! You'll fall in!"

The dark skinned girl bent over and cupped her hands in the water, bringing up a handful of clear liquid. "I won't. I can swim."

"You can't swim!"

"Yes I can." Zhi tossed her head proudly. "I taught myself."

"You liar!"

"No! Now be quiet or I won't show you the secret!"

At that, Yi shut her mouth, but continued to glare self- righteously.

"Watch this."

Zhi looked at the water in her hands, and slowly, with an air of great concentration, drew her cupped palms apart. The water, instead of falling to the ground, stayed suspended in mid air, a shimmering rope between two hands. Yi watched, her mouth dropping open, as Zhi began to twirl her finger, the water following like a caught strand of spider silk. Zhi moved her hands again, pouring the water from one side to the other in mid air.

It was at that moment that Lan, who had noticed the girls' absence, walked up behind them. Clapping her hands to get their attention, she walked over, her face stricken, and grabbed Zhi's hands, causing the water to fall limply between them. Lan shook her head, eyes wide, and pointed at the water and Zhi, the water and Zhi, all the while frowning deeply.

"What?" cried Zhi. "No! No, I wasn't going alone! Yi was with me! I was just playing…"

Lan only shook her head harder, wagging her finger, and, grabbing Yi's shoulder, began to drag both girls back to the house. It was time for a very, very important talk.

* * *

The party that celebrated Prince Ary's coming of age was one to be remembered. The Fire Emperor had pulled out all the stops, with fireworks, fine teas and sake, dancers and drums and the best sungi hornist in the Fire Empire. The gifts lavished on the prince included a mongoose dragon, three swords, including one made by the great Piandao himself, ten new sets of robes in the newest styles both from the Fire Archipelago and the Earth Protectorate (for it was widely known how fashion-conscious the Prince was), and a set of golden chopsticks so exquisite that it was clear they were never meant to be used.

Ary himself was shining with happiness above the crowd, his face powdered pale, his thick hair drawn up into an elegant topknot after hours of coaxing and oiling.

"He really looks like something up there, doesn't he?" murmured minister Qing, who was perhaps a bit more inebriated than he should have been. "Almost looks like one of us."

"Hmm… almost, almost," murmured the noble next to him, who fortunately was a sympathetic ear. "But best not let His Majesty hear you say such a thing."

Up on the dais, the Emperor was about to speak. "Prince Ary," he began. "It was eleven years ago today that you came to me, a young boy, for tutelage in the great Fire Nation. Today, we are an Empire, and you have now grown into a fine young man. Growing up comes with great privileges, but also great responsibility. Now that you have come of age, it is time for you to take up the mantle for which you came here."

Zuko had thought long and hard about what he would say at Ary's sixteenth birthday. He knew that his foster son craved more authority, and he had figured out exactly what to do.

"Today, Prince Ary, I name you the Lord of the Water Tribe. From now on, all matters dealing with the tribe shall go to you first, and you shall have authority over all that happens within it. May Agni's blessing be on you." Zuko gestured to the side, and a servant brought out a small wooden jewelry box. Ary opened it, and saw inside a golden hairpiece, made especially for him in the shape of the crescent moon.

Zuko leaned forward expectantly. Ary, it seemed, was speechless with gratitude at being given such an honor. Eventually, the young man looked up, his face oddly blank. "Thank you, my Lord Father. I will make you proud."

Zuko smiled. "I know you will, my son. I know you will."

* * *

"You're not my parents?"

Yi gaped. "You're not my sister?"

"No, no!" Ying looked at her daughters unhappily. This wasn't going well at all. "Of course we're your parents. Just not by blood."

"But…" Zhi looked at Lan for confirmation. She nodded, and Zhi turned back to the one she had thought was her mother, utterly lost. "But how…?"

"Zhi," said Ying. "The day Than found you was the same day that I gave birth to Yi. We fell in love with you at first sight and took you in as our own, and made you Yi's sister. We love you like any mother or father loves their daughter. You are our little miracle."

Zhi's mind reeled. "But, then, who are my real parents?"

"_We_ are your real parents, Zhi. And we don't know. They could have been anybody. It was still at the very end of the war then, and there were lots of children without parents. But we didn't want you to be an outsider, so we told everyone that you were twins."

"But we look so different," Yi suddenly interrupted. "That explains it. You're not really my sister, and that's why we're so different."

"Yi, of course Zhi is your sister." Ying put her hand on Zhi's shoulder. "She's always been your sister and she always will be. It doesn't matter how she came into our family, only that she' s here now."

"But she's _different._" Yi pointed an accusatory finger at Zhi. "She's weird! She made water float up in the air!"

Ying's expression darkened. "So it seems." Ying turned Zhi around and looked carefully into her wide blue eyes. "Zhi, listen to me carefully, because what I am going to tell you is very important." Zhi nodded solemnly.

"You must never waterbend again."

"What?" Zhi gasped. "No! Mom–"

"No! _Listen_ to me, Zhi! During the war, the Water Tribes were fighting against the Fire Nation, and they were all taken away." Ying pulled Zhi into a tight hug. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"But, mom, I _love_ to play with the water! It's so fun, and­–"

"No, Zhi. That is final. I won't have any arguments." Zhi looked at the ground. "Promise me, Zhi. Swear to Geb and Tu Di Gong."

"I promise," muttered Zhi.

" 'I promise' what?"

"I promise to Geb and Tu Di Gong that I will never play with the water again."

"Okay." Ying hugged Zhi tightly. "Thank you." She looked at her daughter's face carefully. "Now, wipe those eyes. There's nothing to cry about. Come on, now, let's forget about all of this and help me bake some nice fresh bread, how about that?"

Zhi spent the rest of the day helping her mother in the kitchen and went to bed early, dreaming of flying and fire and an unnamable pain.

* * *

When Zhi was fifteen, her world turned upside down…

And never righted again.


	2. Slice of Life

Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon. Many of the characters and concepts here belong to Hotspur, and are borrowed with permission.

A/N: Some quiet domestic scenes that hopefully won't bore you, and then the story will pick up, I promise.

**This story is based off of the AU built up by Hotspur in her epic fanfiction, "Downfall." If you are confused, go read it; it's awesome!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Slice of Life**

"Well, someone's cheerful today."

Yi giggled and ran over to Zhi, tackling her in a giant hug before leaping off. "Yi!" cried Zhi. "What's the matter with you? You almost made me cut my finger off!"

"Guess what happened today. Guess." Yi twirled in a circle, practically lifting off the ground.

"You had your personality replaced with that of a hog-monkey? I don't know, Yi. I'm trying to make dinner."

"The carrots can wait. This can't." Yi took Zhi by the hand. "Jou Tei _kissed_ me."

Zhi stopped her chopping and stared. "Did you tell Auntie Lan?"

"No, of course not! What, do you think I'm stupid?"

"Oh, Yi." Zhi put her head in her hands. "Lord Irei's _son_? Where did you even meet him?"

"By the well." Yi sighed and looked at the ceiling. "He's so dreamy…"

"Yi, come back down to earth. It was just a kiss."

"He said I was beautiful. He likes me."

"He probably doesn't even know who you are."

"He might even be in love with me."

"You're deluded."

"I'll be of age soon. Maybe he'll marry me."

"You're the daughter of a carpenter. I doubt it."

"Oh, Zhi!" Yi threw a piece of carrot at Zhi's face. "You're no fun at all!"

"Well, marriage is a serious business."

Yi was quiet for a moment, pouting. Then, "You know, you might even be sixteen already. We really have no way of knowing, do we?"

Zhi slouched. "No, I guess not."

"So for all we know, you might be able to get married already. Have anyone in mind?"

"No."

"Come on! There must be _someone_ you like!"

"No."

"How about Chan?"

"He's a bore."

"Ben?"

"Dumber than the rocks he bends."

"Pang?"

"He just talks about himself all day."

"Chuo?"

"Look, Yi, just stop. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Okay, fine."

Yi sat down in a chair and watched Zhi chop her carrots for a moment. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Vegetables." Zhi tossed Yi an eggplant. "If Auntie Lan sees that I haven't finished the stew, she'll be furious."

"You really _are_ no fun," said Yi, joining Zhi at the cutting board.

Dinner that night was a small affair. Than and Ying were still away at the Cheng Shi market selling furniture, so only Lan, Zhi, and Yi sat around the table, sharing in Zhi's stew. Lan put down her chopsticks and motioned to Yi in the system of hand signals that they had worked out. _How was your day?_

"Oh," said Yi, a blush creeping into her cheeks. "It was fine. I went to the well, talked with some friends, you know, the usual."

Lan nodded and motioned again. _You are getting older. You need to think about your future._

"Yi wants to marry into money," said Zhi, before she could stop herself. "She doesn't want to have to work."

Yi's face went scarlet. "That's not true!"

"It is. You don't know what else to do. You'll never be a cook, at any rate. You cut these vegetables way too thick. They're raw in the middle."

"How do you know that you're not the one who cut them thick?"

"I know I cut them thin enough, and besides, I was watching you chop."

Lan began rapping her fist on the table, trying to get the girls' attention, but they ignored her.

"You think you're so great, don't you? Such a perfect daughter. But I'm the one who's out there in the world, looking around, trying to make a future for myself. What, you think you're so special that you have a future outside of marriage?"

Zhi glared furiously at her sister. "Yes, I do! The world is changing, or didn't you ever pay attention in school? You think you're out there in the world You think that this little village is the world?"

The two sisters' argument was abruptly cut off by the sound of a knock at the door. Zhi and Yi turned to Lan, who got up to answer it, the two teenagers following behind. Lan opened the door to reveal two men standing in the entryway, the light from the torches barely reaching their faces.

"'Scuse me, miss, could yeh spare a bed for two weary travelers?" one spoke up, speaking in a strange, nasal accent that none of the women had ever heard before.

Lan's eyes immediately widened in suspicion, and she shook her head, shrugging to indicate that she was sorry.

"We don't even need a bed. Jes' a nice bare floor'll do at this point."

Lan shook her head again, this time with more emphasis.

"The main village is only half a mile up the path from here," spoke up Zhi, her ears still ringing from her argument. "As well as Lord Irei's manor. I'm sure you'll find hospitality there."

"Lord Irei?" Said the other man, and the two men exchanged a look. "We'd really rather not." Suddenly the man sank into a deep bow. "Please, kind lady. My companion is injured, and we've been on foot for days with little food or sleep. We need a place to rest and recuperate before we continue."

"Injured?" Yi leaned forward and grabbed Zhi's arm, but whether in fear or excitement Zhi couldn't tell.

"Please, ma'am." The other man stepped up, and in the light Zhi could see that his arm was heavily bandaged. "Only fer a night. Then we'll be movin' on."

Lan stepped back at the intrusion and stomped her foot hard on the ground, pointing back out into the night. The man stopped.

"Ah see." He bowed again, and Zhi could see the flash of a silver blade hung around his waist. "I won't be botherin' you any longer."

It could have ended there. The two travelers could have left, never to be seen again. Yi and Zhi could have come of age that summer, and been married off to two of the young men from the town, to live the rest of their lives chopping vegetables and having babies. Life could have gone on as it was under the Fire Empire's thumb, and perhaps one day, as an old, decrepit Zhi lay in her deathbed, she would have realized the truth of it. That was how it could have happened, but it didn't.

"Wait," Zhi spoke up. "We can't offer you any room, but we have food. You must be hungry."

Lan's eyes narrowed. "Zhi!" hissed Yi. "What are you doing?"

Zhi pried Yi's fingers from her arm and went back to their table, returning with the pot full of leftover stew. "Here. Just try to return the pot."

The man smiled, showing off a set of crooked, yellowed teeth. "I'm in your debt, ma'am. Thank you."

The bandaged man's companion took the pot, and they left, three pairs of eyes following them out. As soon as the door closed, Lan turned on Zhi. _Why did you do that?_

"I… I'm not sure," said Zhi, feeling somewhat foolish. "I just sort of… felt like I should help them."

"And you call me crazy!" scoffed Yi. "Didn't you see them? They're probably bandits."

Lan shook her head. _We will never see the pot again_.

Zhi scowled. She couldn't explain it, but as soon as she'd set eyes on the two odd men, she'd felt… _right_. Like there was no place in the world she should be but right there. It was bizarre.

"I'm going to bed," she announced, before her family could heckle her any further, and walked into her room. Sleep came quickly, but did not bring rest.

_She was alone, floating in utter void, the rush of wind in her ears. Above her was a floating light, so bright, bobbing almost playfully just out of her reach, though she was reaching desperately to catch it. She didn't know what it was or why it was there, only that she absolutely_ needed _to grab it. If she could only touch the light, everything would be right with the world._

_But was it a light? No, it was a boy, a strange, familiar boy she had never seen before, floating somehow above her._ _And it wasn't just a boy, either. It was many boys, and many girls, and men, and women, young and old, of every description and nationality, stretching out as far as she could see, scattered like stars in the sky. Their presence was overwhelming, and their weight pushed her down, sinking slowly through a long tunnel. The light was floating farther and farther away, and everywhere arms were reaching toward her, grabbing her, holding her, pulling her away. No, she couldn't be taken away! She needed to get to the light! _

_Someone was laughing, laughing viciously at her as she struggled to be free, trying to reach, to escape, to get out…_

Zhi woke to the sound of knocking at the door. She opened her eyes to light streaming in from the window of the room she shared with Yi and groaned. She sat up and looked at the door. What now?

"Zhi, don't." Zhi turned around and saw Yi, lying down but wide-eyed and awake. "Don't. It might be them again."

Zhi only debated for a moment before getting up and going to the door, only stopping to throw a simple winter cloak around her nightshirt.

"Zhi!"

Zhi ignored her sister, and opened the door. Sure enough, it was them.

"Many thanks for the stew, miss. I haven't had a nice home-cooked meal in some time. It was very much appreciated."

The two men looked much less intimidating in the morning's soft light, appearing as nothing more than two travelers down on their luck, with impressive beards and green clothing. Maybe Lan and Yi were getting worked up about nothing. Zhi glanced again at the wounded man's arm, and her heart went out to them.

"Please, come in. I was going to make some breakfast anyway."

The wounded man spoke up in his odd accent, "Thank you for yer hospitality, ma'am, but we really should be goin'…"

"Ban!" exclaimed the other. "Where are your manners? The lady is offering us food; what kind of gentlemen would we be if we refused her? Lady, you are truly too kind."

Zhi smiled, flattered, and turned around to begin gathering the dried millet for some porridge. She almost missed it when the man said, in a low voice just above a whisper; "Besides, the redbellies haven't found us yet. We've probably lost them."

As for Yi, she crept in, took one look at the two strangers making themselves comfortable around the kitchen table, and ran back into her room, locking the door behind her.

"So, travelers," said Zhi, as the millet began to boil. "What are your names?"

"But how rude of us!" said one man, "You've been so generous, and we don't even know each other's names! I am Yong, and this is Ban."

"Zhi," said Zhi, turning and bowing slightly, fist pressed to palm. "It's a pleasure."

"How polite," remarked Yong, but his expression had darkened. Ban was frowning as well, scrutinizing Zhi with his head tilted to the side.

"Yeh know, missy, you have very lovely eyes."

"…Oh?" Zhi touched her face self-consciously and wrapped her other arm across her chest. "Is that so?"

"Blue ain't a very common color around here, ain't it?"

"No, I suppose not." Zhi cleared her throat and went back to stirring the porridge. "So what brings you two to these parts? Suo Zai isn't generally a travel destination."

"We're heading south," said Yong vaguely, waving his hand in a completely wrong direction. "A long way from here. It's not important," he added, at a dirty look from Ban.

"South? There isn't all that much south of here, just wilderness, except for the steel mills. Are you factory workers?"

"I said it wasn't important," said Yong, and there was an icy tone to his voice that told Zhi that she should drop the subject.

There was a sudden bang as Lan emerged from her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She glared at Zhi with fury, and, stomping her foot for attention, pointed determinedly at the door.

"Auntie," said Zhi quietly. "Please. They need our help. Mom and Dad would help them."

Lan's back straightened. _Ying and Than are away, and I am in charge. Tell these men to leave immediately._

Zhi turned. "I'm sorry," she said, regret written on her face. "But I have to ask you to go."

"Of course," said Yong. "We wouldn't think of overstaying our welcome."

But the two men had only just barely left the house when Zhi ran after them, carrying two steaming bowls of porridge. "You forgot these," she said breathlessly, holding out the food, and then, just to spite Lan, added; "Feel free to keep the bowls."

Yong smiled, and Zhi noticed that _his_ teeth weren't crooked at all. "Thank you, Zhi. You've been more than kind."

Zhi felt her face grow oddly warm, and smiled back. "I'm sorry for how rude my Aunt was acting. It's really not like her to be so inhospitable."

"It's fine." Ban rubbed his beard and sighed. "It's prob'ly for the best, anyway. Now, thank yeh for yer generosity, but we must be goin'."

Zhi bowed again. "Best of luck on your travels, Ban and Yong." The two men nodded, and, walked off not along the path, strangely, but into the woods.

As soon as they had walked out of earshot, Yong turned to Ban. "Well, fancy that. A Water Tribe girl, all the way out here."

"Might be a crossbreed," grunted Ban. "Them's not too rare. And some Fire Nation have grey eyes. Besides, did yeh see the way she bowed? Fire Nation, in schooling if not in blood. There'd be no point to it."

"Well, perhaps not," admitted Yong reluctantly. "But still, it's odd, don't you think? She looks just like the Lady."

The two men continued walking through the woods, but had not gone far when Yong stopped, sniffing the air.

"Do you smell that?"

"Smoke!" cursed Ban. "They caught up."

"The girl."

Ban looked at Yong and groaned, then reached down to grab the hilt of his sword. "Fine. C'mon. Les' go."

* * *

They came in a heartbeat, not even bothering to knock on the door before blowing it off its hinges. Yi screamed, and Lan stopped silently lecturing Zhi, staring in horror as a dozen red-clad soldiers poured through the entry.

Before anyone had time to react further, the soldiers had lined up in front of the door, forming a solid wall of scarlet and white skull masks. "Search the building!" the unmasked officer snapped. "They might still be here!" He whirled around and grabbed Lan, whose mouth was gaping in fear. "Where are they?" he roared, shaking the mute woman back and forth. "Where are they hiding?"

In a burst of bravery, Yi ran forward and grabbed the officer's arm. "Stop it! She can't answer you!"

The officer dropped Lan like a useless doll and turned on Yi. "Then tell me! _Where are they?_"

Yi cowered. "I don't know! I wasn't looking… I wasn't with… ask her!" Yi pointed to Zhi, who stepped back toward the fireplace in horror, her back bumping against the pot that was still filled with boiling water from the porridge.

"Talk, girl," growled the Fire Army officer, advancing threateningly. "Where did they go?"

"I… I don't know who you…"

"You know very well who I mean!" The man lit a fire in his palm and held it out. "Tell me now or I'll burn this filthy shack to the ground!"

"I don't know!" shrieked Zhi, her thoughts becoming confused in her terror. "They said… they said… I can't remember but they didn't tell us! They're gone!"

The officer signaled, and suddenly fire was everywhere, sparks and smoke rising to the ceiling and filling the air. Lan was in the middle of the room, holding Yi and watching powerlessly as their house went up around them.

"Tell me where they are!"

"I don't know!" Zhi looked around helplessly. This couldn't be happening, it just couldn't be happening! "Please, just leave us alone!"

The officer struck, slapping Zhi roughly and drawing a gasp of shock. "You'll be sorry, girl. If you have any sense, you'll tell me where they went!"

"I can't!"

"Then you're bringing this on yourself!" The officer held out his arms, but before he could strike, Zhi moved. She didn't know what she had meant to do, slap at him ineffectually or try to shove his arms out of her face, but she felt something behind her, and somehow, without touching anything, _grabbed_ and _threw_.

The boiling water arced through the air and hit the man directly in the face. He howled and clutched himself, and strong hands seized around Zhi's arms.

"Waterbender!" the officer snarled, angry red welts forming on his face, "You are under arrest for treason against the Fire Empire and assault against an officer of the army. Take her away!"

Zhi opened her mouth, but no sound came. She was too stunned to resist as the soldiers dragged her out, and the last thing she saw of Lan and Yi, the two of them huddled together, crying, surrounded by men and flame.

It was then that a large stone went hurling through the air and connected with the back of the officer's head with a clang. He dropped like a sack of flour, and all the remaining soldiers whirled to see where the attack had come from.

Yong stepped out of the trees, sunk into a firm stance, and brought up a large wall of earth against the incoming fireballs. Chaos broke out, the soldiers holding Zhi letting go of her to face this new threat and the others pushing forward to reach the solitary earthbender. Zhi, suddenly freed, looked about in confusion. Fire was flying everywhere. Where was she supposed to go?

"Run, girlie!" rang out Ban's strange accent, and Zhi ran back to her home, which had become an inferno.

"LAN!" she screamed, her eyes burning from the smoke. "YI!"

A hand closed around her shoulder, and she whirled to see Ban's stern face. "Ah meant _away_ from here, stupid girl. C'mon, _hurry_!"

Zhi couldn't fight, only try to keep up as Ban dragged her into the trees. She was slipping, stumbling through the leaves, her vision blurring.

"Stop… stop!"

"_Faster,_ girl!"

She didn't know how far into the woods they had gone when they finally stopped, or in which direction, only that her feet ached and the acrid smell of her home burning was still in her nostrils. "Wait here," said Ban, and left.

Zhi closed her eyes, her heart beating in her ears. Did Yi and Lan get out? Were they still in the house? What was going on? She had to get back! She stood up with resolve, took one look around, and sat back down with the growing realization that she was completely lost. Despite her mounting panic, there was no choice but to wait for Ban's return.

It seemed like ages before Ban came back, followed closely by Yong, but there was something in the way Yong moved, in the slope of his shoulders or the drag of his feet, that suggested something was very wrong.

"Damn!" he swore, leaning his front against a tree. "_Damn_ those redbellies! _Augh_!"

"Yeh'll be fine," said Ban grimly. "Yeh'll be jes' fine. Jes' hang in there."

Yong turned slightly, and Zhi saw with a sick clench in her stomach a large, circular burn on his back, crisped and blackened, the cloth around it still smoking. The wound looked like a roasted cowpig, and Zhi's own skin twinged in sympathy just looking at it.

"How…" Zhi started, but the two men weren't paying attention.

"Can yeh bend us up some cover? They'll be comin' up soon."

Wincing, Yong took a stance and clenched his fists, but abruptly fell on his side with a gasp. "I'm sorry," he said quietly as Ban hauled him upright, his voice strained. "I'm sorry. I can't."

Suddenly Ban's head snapped up and stared at Zhi. "You!" he said. "Girl! I saw yeh bend!"

Zhi shivered and took a step back. Were they going to attack her too?

Yong sat down, his face contorted in a grimace, and Ban shrugged off his pack, removing a waterskin and throwing it to Zhi, who caught it clumsily. "Here."

Zhi stared. "What… what do I do with this?"

Ban screwed up his face in a scowl. "Ah want you to _drink_ it, girl! Naw, bend it! Be useful!"

Zhi clutched at the waterskin, twisting it anxiously. "I'm not supposed to…"

"Not supposed to? Not supposed to what? Do yeh want those fire demons to find us?"

_Maybe I do_, thought Zhi, _I don't even know what we're running from._ But at a pained moan from Yong, she walked up and nervously began pouring the water over his wound.

"Naw, don't jes' _pour_ it. Ah could do that. Heal him."

"I… I'm sorry. I'm not a healer…"

Ban grunted and took her hands in his. "Here. Now, ah'm no bender, so ah can't do this. But ah've seen it enough times."

The strange man took the waterskin and poured the cool liquid into her hands. "Hold it now, don't let it drop."

Zhi took a deep breath, trying to calm the trembling in her core. _Okay. I can do this, right?_ The water stayed in her hands, not falling through, and she experimentally lifted it a few inches into the air in a transparent orb. Ban leaned forward, so close she could smell his porridgey breath. "Good. Now put it to the burn."

Zhi reached forward and pressed the water to Yong's wound, shuddering as she felt its unnatural warmth. And something else…

There was a trembling beneath Yong's skin, and Zhi, could feel it, rushing just out of sight. But it was upset, an undone, frayed knot, rushing out in all directions when it should be going along its own true path. Maybe if she straightened it out…

Zhi gasped in amazement as the burnt skin beneath her hands began to flake off, revealing a new, healthy layer underneath. "I… I never knew…" she whispered. "I never knew…"

"Good, good!" crowed Ban, a smile of relief breaking through the worry lines on his face. "Very good!"

Yong sighed and turned to look at Zhi, beaming. "You're a lifesaver, Zhi." He stood up, only needing to touch a tree for a moment to keep his balance. "Now, brace yourself."

Zhi only had a moment to wonder what he meant when the ground opened up and swallowed her, cutting off her shriek.

She was still screaming in the smothering darkness when a hand closed over her shoulder and Yong whispered in her ear; "It's okay. Hush now. We have enough air. It's just until they pass."

Zhi waited breathless beneath the ground, the heat of Ban and Yong's bodies close around her, listening for the thudding of metal boots, the wordless mouthing of voices. The soldiers poured into the clearing, the vibration of their passing raining small chunks of dirt down on Zhi's head. She imagined that the weight of their armor would make the ceiling of their enclosure collapse, dropping the soldiers directly into her lap, and her teeth chattered in fear. It felt like an eternity before they finally left, baffled by the dead end trail, and Zhi's legs were starting to cramp up when Yong finally opened the impromptu cave and let her and Ban out.

The threat passed, Zhi immediately whirled on the two men. "We need to go back!" she cried, her voice choking. "We need to go back to the house!"

Yong shook his head. "No, they'll still have guards over there. There'll be nothing left but ashes by now, anyway."

"But… but what about Yi? And Auntie Lan? We don't even know if they're…" Zhi swallowed. She couldn't say it; saying it might make it true. "We don't even know if they're okay! We have to go back!"

"You can go back if yeh want, girlie, but yeh'll get arrested, and it'll all be fer nothin'." said Ban.

"But, _it's your fault!_" Zhi looked from one man to the other, feeling as though she was going mad. She could have just lost half her family, and no one seemed to even care! What was the matter with them? "If it weren't for you, those soldiers wouldn't have bothered us! We've never done anything wrong! It's _you_! You're rebels, criminals! I should go turn you in right now!"

Ban laughed harshly. "Good luck with that! Yer a waterbender, they know it now, which means yer an enemy, a spy! They'll arrest you as quick as us."

"But I've never done anything wrong…"

"They don't care about that," said Yong softly. "All they care about is your blood, and the cat-owl's out of the bag, now."

"The Fire Empire is fair and just. They won't arrest me, they'll give me a fair trial."

Ban tilted his head at Zhi, examining her critically. "That," he said finally, "is a load of rhino dung."

Zhi stared. "What?"

"Let me tell you something, Zhi. Something you might not have heard in school." Yong leaned over, his expression earnest. "A long time ago, before the war, there were four Nations: Air, Water, Earth, and Fire…"

"I know _that_," interrupted Zhi. "And they all lived in constant conflict over everything, because they were all different. Then, the Fire Nation started the Great War because it was home to the greatest minds and the most powerful leaders. The other nations fought back against their superiority, and were defeated after one hundred years of struggle, leading to our current world, united in peace under one rule."

Yong wrinkled his nose, and Ban looked slightly sick. "Oh, Zhi," he finally said. "Those are poisonous words."

"And comin' from a waterbender!" shouted Ban suddenly. "It's unnatural!" He looked at Zhi in fury. "Do yeh want to know what they did to yer people, girlie? To _our_ people?"

Zhi opened her mouth to object her being placed within the water tribe, but Ban kept going. "First they took the Southern sister tribe, killed all th' benders and destroyed their beautiful capital. Then they took the Northern sister tribe, killed most everyone and shipped the survivors to a prison island far from their home. Even today, they're there, starvin' hopelessly, dyin' slowly. Then they went after _mah_ tribe, mah Swamp Tribe, and they're tryin' to kill all o' us too. But they won't." Ban gritted his teeth, a feral look in his eyes. " 'Cause we'll kill 'em all, the sons o' bitches."

"That's enough, Ban," said Yong sternly, and turned back to a silent Zhi. "Before the War, the four nations lived in peace and prosperity, and the Fire Nation's ambitions ruined millions of lives. Today we do not live in peace, but in _fear_. Fear of what the Fire Empire will do to those who step out of line." His face grew softer. "You just saw what happens with your own eyes."

Zhi shook her head. "No," she said. "No. That's not how the Fire Empire works. They are the father of the Nations, ruling firmly, but kindly and fairly. They provide for us and rule us, and that is the right way of the world."

"Listen to her, the little parrot-lizard," sneered Ban, his eyes cold. "I'll best she's at the top of her class. Don't bother wit' her, Yong. She's too far gone."

"Stop that, Ban, it's not helping. Zhi," Yong's face was kind, his voice sincere. "The things you have been taught in school are _lies_. Believe your eyes, not your ears. You _saw_ what they did when they saw what you were. Were you just going to hide yourself and deny your identity forever? They would have killed you or locked you away the moment they found out."

Zhi turned her face away, blinking away the tears welling in her eyes. "I don't know."

"The Fire Empire has made the whole world slaves to their ambition, and they're teaching the children to love their enslavement. It's not your fault you were taken in. But I remember a different world." Yong smiled wistfully. "I am from Omashu, and I was lucky enough to live there before it fell to the Fire Nation. I remember a grand city, home to marvels of engineering and art, with a noble heritage. The Fire Nation came in, destroyed our way of life, and killed our king. My family escaped. But we remember what they did to our city." Yong closed his eyes and grimaced at the memory. "It was Omashu for thousands of years, and became Nusku within a matter of weeks."

He opened his eyes and stared hard into Zhi's. "That's what we're fighting for. For the Earth Kingdom, for what's left of the Water Tribe, and for the memory of the Air Nomads. We're fighting for our own sovereignty and our birthright. We're fighting for everyone and everything that isn't Fire Nation, because if we don't there won't be anyone left. We can't just lie down and let them walk on our prone bodies."

Zhi stared. She'd never heard anything like this before. Her whole life, she'd listened to her teachers tell her about the inherent superiority of the Fire Nation, and how everyone benefited from being ruled by them. She'd listened and learned that the other three Nations were less developed, were like children to be led. And she'd believed it, not having any other frame of reference, though it had always troubled her that so many people had to die for the Fire Empire to reign supreme. But now, what was true anymore?

_Mother, Father, Lan, Yi, where are you? I need you, I don't know what to do…_

"Zhi," said Yong gently. "I know it is partially our fault for the loss of your home. But we can help you. We can bring you somewhere safe, where the Fire Empire won't be able to get to you. We can help you with your abilities. Wouldn't you like to learn how to waterbend? We can bring you to a place where there are teachers. We can even try to find your family, if they got out."

Zhi licked her dry lips. She felt lightheaded from the onslaught of information. "I don't know. Can I think about it?"

"Of course. We will protect you until then. Won't we, Ban?"

The other man nodded curtly, still searching Zhi with his eyes, his eyebrows raised. "Yeah. O' course."

And so it was that that night, Zhi found herself in the unfamiliar position of bedding down on the ground, next to two strange men in a crude earth tent, tossing and turning to dreams of light and nightmares of flame.


	3. Princes and Paupers

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon. Many of the characters and concepts here belong to Hotspur, and are borrowed with permission.

A/N: For those of you who are not familiar with 'Downfall,' Zuko's family is very AU, with no Azula or Ursa.

**This story is based off of the AU built up by Hotspur in her epic fanfiction, "Downfall." If you are confused, go read it; it's awesome!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Princes and Paupers**

The cool sea breeze blew gently over the ocean, whipping up wavelets and scattering the light from the afternoon sun. The smell of sea salt and tropical flowers hung thick in the air, carrying the sound of a child's laughter and the song of wren-thrushes, sweet and lilting on the breeze. The beach sand was soft and warm underfoot, and the water was cool and refreshing. Anyone who looked upon the scene would have to agree that paradise was indeed Ember Island.

The two sisters strolled along the shoreline, chatting amicably about school and friends and what they planned on doing the rest of the week. The two of them, though young, were typical Fire Nation beauties, with long black hair, warm brown eyes, and pale skin, clad in fashionably revealing beachwear. The younger of the two looked up to see a child sitting on the beach in front of them, using a pail to make some sort of structure out of moist sand.

"Mei!" called the girl, waving her hand in the air. "There you are! We've been looking for you!"

"Hi Hana! I've been right here," replied the child, unfazed. "I'm making a sand castle. Do you want to see?"

The older sister walked over, smiling. "Sure. Show me."

"Well, here's where the Emperor lives," said Mei, pointing to the highest spot on the sand castle. "And here's the hall where he has his audience with the subjects." A large hollowed area at the front. "And here's the rhino stables." A smaller hollowed area in the back. Mei reached into the pail and withdrew a squirming sandcrab. "And here's the rhino!" The young girl placed the sandcrab in the 'stable' with an air of triumph, only to frown deeply when it lived up to its name, swiftly burrowing into the sand until not a sign of it was left.

Hana brushed a stray hair from her face and raised her hand to cover her grin. The 'sand castle' looked more like a sand blob than the palace at Azar, but the pout on her baby sister's face was just too adorable to be ignored. "It's lovely, Mei," she said, and she couldn't keep the laughter entirely out of her voice. "But it looks like your rhino ran away."

Mei sighed. "I'll need to catch a new one." She got to her feet, her legs covered with sand from kneeling, and turned to the oldest of the three, who was staring fixedly at the horizon. "Yuri, do you want to help?"

"There's a ship," Yuri said suddenly, startling her two sisters. "On the horizon. Look."

Hana got up and peered to where her older sister was looking, shading her eyes with her hand. Sure enough, there was a speck on the horizon, moving almost imperceptibly closer. "Think it's them?" asked Hana excitedly.

"Probably," said Yuri. "Father will know soon. We need to make ourselves presentable. Come on, Mei."

"But I'm not done with my sand castle! I need a rhino!"

"Oh, Mei. You're all sandy. You can make sand castles later, you need to get cleaned up, okay?"

The young girl sighed and held her sisters' hands as the three girls walked back up to the beach house. The Fire Emperor would be waiting.

When the ship finally pulled into the dock, the Fire Empire's banner was flying at full mast and cracking in the wind, for the royal family was in attendance. Or at least, most of the royal family.

There was the Fire Emperor, a handsome man in his thirties, graced by a fine black goatee and mustache. He wore the traditional topknot of his people with a golden hairpiece that pronounced his royal status. Of course, no hairpin was necessary to know who the Fire Emperor was, not when you could still see his old scar. There was his wife, the Lady Hyun, and their three daughters, giggling and whispering to one another in anticipation. There was the Fire Emperor's mother, the Lady Sakura, her normally stern gaze relaxed perhaps by a few degrees. And there was the Emperor's son, Ary, the Lord of the Water Tribe, a young man with high cheekbones, sea-blue eyes, and the beginnings of a beard. There was a glad, almost celebratory air to the proceedings as the ship pulled into the harbor, with the nobles relaxed and smiling as they waited.

The front of the ship lowered into a gangplank, and down strode a formidable woman, military in her step and with proud bearing, wearing a suit of armor that, by its worn look, was not purely decorative. She looked around at the royal family and bowed stiffly. There was a moment of silence. Then, both she and the Fire Emperor burst out laughing.

"Hotaru!" the Emperor cried, throwing his hands out in a sign of welcome. "Hotaru! It has been so long, I have almost forgotten what you looked like!" He stepped forward and pulled the woman into an embrace, smiling broadly.

Hotaru chuckled. "How could you have, when you must own a portrait of me for every day of the year? It is a pleasure to see you too, Zuko."

"Come, come! Come greet the family! I haven't seen you for over a year; we have so much to catch up on!" Zuko suddenly stepped back, frowning at her. "What are you wearing? This is a vacation, not a military campaign."

"Oh, Zuko! What does it matter? You called me on such short notice, I didn't have time to go back and get all the robes and kimonos and etcetera. Besides, it's just Ember Island. Who cares?"

"Hmph," huffed Zuko. "I suppose it is permissible. Although," he smiled ruefully, "It is not as though I have ever had control over you anyway."

"No, you haven't," agreed Hotaru cheerfully, walking past him to greet the rest of the royal family. Lady Sakura stepped up and clasped forearms with her daughter, staring into her eyes.

"That earth man of yours treating you right?" she finally asked gruffly, her hand tightening on Hotaru's arm.

"Yes, Mother. Like always. Why do you even ask?"

The Lady Sakura smiled predatorily. "Because I'm your mother. I have to ask, so I know whether or not to kill him."

Hotaru sighed and rolled her eyes, but was interrupted by Ary. "Speaking of which, where is Uncle Devdan? I thought he was coming."

"And where's cousin Zhan?" added Hana, frowning.

"Ah, Devdan couldn't come," said Hotaru regretfully. "He's very busy in Ba Sing Se. But Zhan is here. He's just hiding in the ship. ZHAN!" she roared suddenly, making Mei jump. "GET YOUR LAZY SELF DOWN HERE AND SAY HELLO TO YOUR COUSINS!"

All eyes went to the ship as a boy appeared in the door and scuttled down, his face bright red. He bowed quickly to each of the nobles present, including twice to the Fire Emperor, then stood at attention like a soldier, jaw set and staring straight ahead.

"Well!" said Zuko, "It seems that you're prepared for battle as well, nephew. Let me look at you." Zuko stretched his arms out and looked at Zhan at arms' length. "Oh, you've grown at least a foot since last time we met, haven't you?"

Zhan looked down. "N-not… n-not quite a f-f-f-f-foot, sir. F-f-four inches."

The Fire Emperor smiled gently. "You don't need to be afraid of me, Zhan. I'm your uncle. Now look up at me."

Zhan obliged, meeting Zuko's amber gaze with his own green one. "That's a good boy. Now, this is your first time at Ember Island, so go off and play with your cousins, let them show you around. Alright?" Zhan nodded and walked off with the three giggling sisters, away from the dock and towards the beach.

Zuko turned back towards Hotaru, who was animatedly catching up with Hyun and Ary. "Charming boy, your son," he said. "Charming."

Hotaru grinned. "Well, he's not bad. Got some potential. I might be able to make something of him yet." She looked around at their much reduced group, frowning. "But where is Iroh?" Then, in a lower voice, "How is he doing?"

Zuko's face fell, and even in the sunlight his expression seemed somehow grey. "Not well," he admitted quietly. "He doesn't have much strength, even to leave his room, yet he insisted on coming to Ember Island anyway. We brought the best healers at our disposal, but still…" Zuko shook his head, and Hyun reached out to softly touch his arm. "He said he'd see you back at the manor."

"Well, then let's go see him. I'd hate to keep my dear uncle waiting." Hotaru turned up the road to the manor, walking at a brisk pace.

The Fire Emperor frowned. "Hotaru, come, don't you want to take the palanquin?"

"I can do without. Besides, I've been on that ship so long, I could use the exercise."

Zuko sighed. "Fine, suit yourself."

And so, whether by foot or on the backs of servants, the royal family made its way back to the Ember Island manor. Zuko showed Hotaru to her room and, after a only a moderate amount of coaxing and cursing, managed to convince her to change out of her armor and into something more appropriate. No sooner had she changed then she was out and exploring the manor, looking for her uncle.

Hotaru straightened her silk robes, and knocked on the entry to the master bedroom. "Come in," said a voice, and Hotaru swung open the door.

It truly was a magnificent room, with a great, canopied bed and a view of the sea taking up an entire wall, letting the natural light stream in. The room normally should have gone to the Emperor, but Zuko had insisted on his uncle taking it instead. Hotaru looked at the person sitting in the chair by the window and stifled a gasp.

Her uncle had changed in the year since they had last visited. He seemed older, frailer, his face drawn and sunken in. Gone was his pudge and softness, his skin seeming to hang listlessly over his bones. But when he looked up and smiled, the same light still flickered in his eyes. "Hotaru," he said, and even his voice seemed diminished. "Hotaru, my lovely niece."

Hotaru smiled, but her joy didn't reach her eyes. "Uncle, I'm here."

Iroh rose shakily to his feet, grabbing a cane for support. "It has been far too long. Wait just a moment, and I'll come over and greet you."

"No, Uncle, you don't have to." Hotaru walked over and put a hand on her ailing uncle's shoulder. "It is a joy to see you."

"And you too, Hotaru. But tell me, where is my grand-nephew, Zhan? Surely he is here? I was looking forward to seeing him."

"He's here; he's with the girls." Hotaru gently helped Iroh sit back down, and he murmured his gratitude. "I hope he isn't getting into too much trouble."

"If he takes after his father at all, you have no need to wonder," replied Iroh with a sly grin. "You can _know_."

"Ha. Well, he doesn't seem to take much after either of us, to tell the truth," admitted Hotaru. "Zhan is a fine boy, but he lacks drive." Hotaru clucked her tongue sadly. "And he still stutters."

"Well, many fine men stutter," said Iroh. "Why, one of my best commanding officers from my military days stuttered. A brave warrior, but he couldn't give orders in battle. Only thing that kept him from promotion to Colonel, really…" Iroh seemed to drift off in thought for a moment, then chuckled softly. "I'm very sorry, Hotaru. I'm not helping, am I?"

"Not really," replied Hotaru playfully. "But thank you anyway. You will be joining us downstairs soon, I hope?"

"But of course. Do you think I would miss an opportunity to be with my family? Tell, me, does Zhan know how to play Pai Sho?"

"Not well. I'm sure you'll be able to teach him a lot."

"Excellent! I have an important task ahead of me, then!"

Hotaru laughed and patted Iroh's hand. "I'm sure you do." Her hand rested on his for a moment, and her expression changed from happiness to consternation. Iroh's hands were _cold_. A firebender's hands were _never_ cold.

"Iroh… how are you? How are you feeling these days?"

"Oh, fine. I know I'm a little under the weather, but I'm really fine. My dear nephew is taking very good care of me; there is no need to worry. Acupuncture, you know, really helps. As do the medicinal teas, though they are bitter." Iroh sighed. "Ah, well. Now, stop furrowing your eyebrows so, Niece. You'll give yourself wrinkles, and then you'll look just like me!"

Hotaru forced her face to relax. "Very well," she said, and frowned as she heard the faint sound of her name being shouted. "Hmm, I should go and let my dear brother know where I am before he tears the manor apart searching. Can you believe that he still seems to think I need taking care of, after all this time?"

Iroh nodded sagely. "Your brother holds close those dear to him. It is not a fault."

"No," agreed Hotaru. "I suppose it isn't."

By the time the children returned from the beach, it was nearly dinnertime, and all four of them were covered to some degree in sand and seawater. After an admonishment from Hyun ("Really, Yuri, _you_ should have known better!"), they got cleaned up and went to dinner. It was a celebratory dinner in honor of Hotaru's return to the Fire Nation, a steamed lobster-squid with a generous supply of wasabi dipping sauce. It smelled divine, and all present licked their lips in anticipation as Hotaru helped Iroh down the stairs to the dining room.

After a quick prayer to Agni, the royals dug in, though Iroh, Hotaru noticed, did so with less gusto than usual. Zhan took a huge bite of the lobster-squid, an eager look on his face, which as he chewed contorted into an expression of agony. He looked like he was about to spit it out, but Hotaru shot him a glare and he swallowed, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. As soon as it was down, he grabbed a glass of water and began gulping desperately.

"Zhan?" asked Hyun concernedly. "Are you okay?"

"Sp-p- _spicy_," he finally managed to gasp, eliciting laughter from the rest of the family.

"I'm afraid this is my fault, Hyunnie," said Hotaru. "The cooks in Ba Sing Se… I haven't been able to raise him on proper food."

Zuko shrugged. "It can't be helped. We'll just have to start him slowly." The Emperor waved for a servant. "Bring my nephew some mild curry. No wasabi sauce."

After dinner, as the servants cleared their plates, Hana raised her hand. "May I speak, Father?"

Zuko nodded. "Certainly, Hana."

"I would like to show Aunt Hotaru what I learned in school."

Hotaru had been looking with concern at Iroh, wondering what had happened to her beloved Uncle that would make him barely touch his meal, but at the mention of her name she looked up and smiled. "Oh? Well, show me."

"You'll like this," promised the twelve-year old, standing up and turning to Zhan. "Come on, Zhan, you'll be my volunteer."

"What, again?" said Zhan, the hint of a whine in his voice. "We p-p-practiced all afternoon!"

"Oh, go on, Zhan," said Hotaru. "I want to see this."

Giving one last pleading look to Yuri, who only smiled, Zhan got up and stood in front of Hana. Hana put her fingers together into hard cones and jabbed her cousin several times in his shoulders and hips.

"Ow!" he yelped, and fell over, landing on his rear end, his limbs twitching oddly. "That hurt, Hana!"

But Hana just turned around and bowed, grinning broadly to her aunt, who returned the look, applauding lightly.

"Very nice, Hana," said Hotaru. "Pressure points?"

"Yeah! Our new Open Hand teacher taught us. She's really funny, but she's _amazing_ at it! She can completely paralyze you by just touching you! I'm still learning though."

"Well! You're a lucky girl to be learning that. It's dead useful. There are many times I wish I had learned advanced Open Hand." Hotaru turned to Zuko. "Looks like you won't have to worry about boys chasing _that_ one," she said cheerily, and the Emperor choked.

Zhan got shakily back to his feet, frowning and rubbing his rear. "The s-s-s-s-sand was a lot softer."

Ary reached over and gave his cousin a pat on the shoulder with a wry smile. "I understand. Usually, she uses me as her punching bag."

"So Zhan," said Zuko, as the two children got resettled. "What have you been learning?"

"Oh." Zhan looked at his mother, then slowly met Zuko's eyes. "Hi-hi-history, and c-calligraphy, and sciences, and earthbending."

Ary looked up, his face carefully blank, before Zuko continued.

"How is the earthbending going?"

"F-f-f-fine, but it's hard to learn on a sh-ship." Zhan shot another look at his mother, then went on. "I can th-throw a boulder this big now." He stretched his hands out about four feet.

Zuko smiled indulgently. "That's very good. I'm sure you'll be a wonderful earthbender some day."

Hotaru nodded. "If you work hard enough, you will."

Zhan shrank back, and Iroh frowned. "Hard work is important for any endeavor," he said. "But so is rest. It reinvigorates the spirit." The old firebender yawned. "Ah, the sun is setting. It is time for me to reinvigorate my own spirit. Goodnight, everyone. I will see you in the morning."

Iroh turned to slowly leave, helped along by Yuri, while the younger children excused themselves to run off into the manor. Zuko waved his hand to Ary. "Come here, Ary. I wish to speak with you."

"What is it, Father?"

"Walk along the boardwalk with me."

The two royals left the manor and walked along the wooden pathway that encircled the island. The sun had set, but the sky was still purple with its light, and the world was lit softly with dusk. After walking for a bit, Zuko stopped and watched the horizon in silence, honoring the passage of the day and Agni's time of rest. Ary sighed quietly. The ability to _feel_ the sun's movement was just another thing he could not have.

"Father?" he asked finally, after it seemed as though enough time had passed. "Father, is there something you wished to speak to me about?"

"Hmm? Ah, yes."

The Fire Emperor turned to his son and smiled, and unbidden images jumped to Ary's mind, of coronations and scarlet robes and a golden throne… He shook himself mentally. No. No, it did no one any good to dream of the impossible. But… did it do any harm?

"I want to talk to you about your new plan for the Water Tribe."

Oh. Of course. The Water Tribe. "Do you think it is a bad idea, Father?"

"No, to the contrary, I think it is a marvelous idea, in theory. But, what are you going to do with them, once you have them? And we must consider the reactions of those you leave on the island. There may be… unpleasantness."

"I think the guard stationed on the island can handle any uprising, if that is what you are thinking. I am fully prepared for anything they can come up with. And as for the others, I have prepared a facility on Lingyu Island. You don't need to worry, Father. I've done everything."

Zuko smiled. "It seems that you have! I'm proud of you, Ary. I think this may finally solve the problems we've been having with the Tribe."

Ary nodded. "And perhaps even more than that." His voice lowered as he continued. "I think, with the increased surveillance, we may finally identify the Avatar."

Zuko frowned. "I doubt that. We have already taken a census of all Water Tribe births. The Avatar is not on Sohar."

"But we _know_ that the rebels don't have him. If they did, they would have used him as a rallying point by now. Which means the Avatar must have somehow slipped past us."

Zuko chewed on his lip for a moment, thinking. "Or…" he finally said. "Or the avatar cycle has broken."

Ary fell silent, and looked at the Emperor.

"Ary, the last Avatar died after going into the avatar state," said Zuko, looking earnestly into Ary's eyes. "And we know from the Fire Sages that if the Avatar dies in the avatar state, the cycle ends. We cannot discount that fact!"

Ary said nothing. He knew that it made perfect sense, but he couldn't shake the feeling that if the avatar cycle had ended, there would be some sort of sign, some sort of upset in the world that would mark the occasion. But he had no evidence to back up his theory. After all, the avatar cycle had never ended before.

Zuko put his hand on Ary's shoulder. "Ary, I am not saying that your idea has no merit. I think it will be a wonderful thing for your people."

_My people. Right._ Ary forced himself to smile. "Thank you, Father. I am glad you approve."

Zuko smiled, but the expression was lost in the darkness. "Come, let's go back to the manor. It's getting late." He lit a fire in his palm to light the way and began walking back to the manor, leaving Ary alone with his thoughts.

Ary closed his eyes and listened to the night, to the waves crashing and the cricket-moths starting their songs. He felt a tug deep down inside him and knew, without looking at the horizon, without seeing the silvery light. _The moon is rising. It's almost full._ He looked up, the soft moonlight reflected in his eyes. He scowled. _Damn the moon._

"Ary!" came a call from the darkness. "Ary, are you coming?"

"Yes, Father," Ary called after a moment. "I'm right behind you."

* * *

"Zhi, wake up!"

Zhi did not want to wake up. Zhi was tired. Zhi was sore. Zhi was tired and sore. Sore and tired. Also dirty. And covered in insect bites. In short, Zhi was sick of living outdoors.

"Up, Zhi! We got a lot a' ground ter cover today!"

Zhi groaned. She had never considered herself as being particularly out of shape, but Ban and Yong set a hard pace and walked all day. It wasn't that Ban and Yong were inhospitable. They were actually quite kind. Yong would give up his blanket for her to sleep in at night, and even gruff Ban would call for a rest when Zhi seemed ready to drop. It just wasn't the kind of life that Zhi was used to. Not to mention, outside of her strange new healing ability, she felt completely useless. She couldn't earthbend or fight, and could just barely waterbend. Sure, she could cook, but there was little to cook with on the trail. Ban and Yong, it seemed, had been traveling together for a long time, and had their daily schedule worked out to the smallest detail, with little room for Zhi.

At Ban's insistence, Zhi roused herself from sleep and stretched. Yong was already up in the early morning sun and taking the remnants of last night's rabbitquail out from the fire, where it had been smoking. With a sigh, Zhi began rolling up the blanket and got out of the rock tent. As soon as she was out, Yong made a swift movement, and the shelter crumbled into loose gravel. Ban was hunched over the map and didn't even look up as he wordlessly handed over a piece of meat. Zhi supposed she could be grateful that Ban was an accomplished hunter, so she didn't have to go hungry. But she _was_ used to having some sort of seasoning on her meat, even if it was only a little bit of herbs from the garden! It was all too easy to get tired of tough, gamey rabbitquail for breakfast and dinner every day.

As soon as Yong finished going over and burying the campsite from Fire Empire eyes, they set off across the rugged terrain. Ban and Yong often walked in silence, which gave Zhi plenty of time to think. Too much time, as her mind would inevitably wander to her family. Her family, whom she had abandoned…

Lan. Yi. Were they alright? Zhi's mother and father were sure to have returned by now, only to find their house a pile of ash and their daughter gone. And the soldiers… what if the soldiers hurt them, too? What if her entire family was imprisoned, or worse? Guilt churned in Zhi's stomach, and she shuddered. _I am a coward. I've betrayed my family and my Empire_.

But then she would remember the flames, and the faceless soldiers, and the way the officer had spat out the name for what she was, and the guilt mixed with an even stronger fear. _Waterbender… I'm not safe anywhere. I_ am _the enemy_.

She had always known it, in a way. She knew she was forbidden to waterbend, but there had been times, when she was alone, that she just couldn't help it. The water was _inside_ her. She couldn't deny it.

Ban and Yong… they weren't angry with her for waterbending, or seemed in the least bit put off. Ban had asked her to heal the arrow wound on his shoulder, and had told her she had a gift. They actually seemed to _like_ her for what she was, and, for a moment, she'd felt a glimmer of pride. Did she really want to go back to hiding?

But with every step forward, the decision to turn back was becoming less and less of an issue. After all, she wasn't entirely sure she could find her way home.

Ban suddenly stopped, causing Zhi to almost walk into him. They were at the crest of a hill, and as she peered into the distance Zhi could see a strange haze, like fog, but yellowish brown. "The steel factories," muttered Yong. "There will be patrols here; we should be careful."

Ban, strangely, was smiling. "We're close," he said happily. "Almost home."

"Home?" asked Zhi, making her voice heard. "Where's home?" All she'd heard from the two rebels was that they were heading to a safe place, possibly their headquarters. Where exactly that was had been left to the imagination.

Ban looked at her curiously and unrolled the map, pointing to a large blank space in the south of the Earth Kingdom. Zhi was amazed to see how much ground they had covered. They were already halfway down the Nahash mountain range, near the headwaters of the Aphar river. Zhi's heart clenched to think how far she was from home. Before, she had never gone further from home than Cheng Shi. It hit her like a brick: there was no going back.

Perhaps picking up on the distressed look on her face, Yong spoke up. "Zhi? Is everything okay?"

"I'm… I'm fine," said Zhi, and surprised herself with how weak and quavering her voice sounded. "I'm just… tired."

"Then we'll rest. We want to pass through this area as fast as possible, so rest while you can."

Ban nodded and sat down with a sigh, rubbing his thighs, and Yong leaned forward, an expectant look in his eyes. Zhi knew what was coming. Every evening, Yong had taken it upon himself to be in charge of Zhi's 'reeducation.' In her mind, Zhi had started calling it the "Then the Fire Nation" stories, since every session seemed to feature that phrase. Once upon a time was a peaceful village… then the Fire Nation. Once upon a time was a magnificent kingdom… then the Fire Nation. Once upon a time was a happy family… then the Fire Nation. The stories of death and destruction were incredible, unbelievable, and she didn't believe them. How could the Fire Empire condone such actions? No, it had to be propaganda, and nothing more.

"Look around you, Zhi," said Young, gesturing at the scenery. It was a bleak landscape, bare foothills and valleys with the occasional grey brush or scraggly tree. "This place was once thriving farmland and rich forest, but the Fire Nation have taken it all and stripped it for their steel mills. There is not a single tree with usable firewood for miles. I've seen this change, within my lifetime!"

Zhi said nothing for a moment, but picked at the leaves of a nearby bush. "Can't you burn the brush for firewood?"

Yong sighed, and Ban made a noncommittal grunt. "That's not the point, Zhi. And no, you can't burn the brush. It's smokewood. It smokes without getting hot." Yong shook his head. "Zhi, the point is that before the Fire Nation came, this was a thriving community. Now look." He gestured again. "Wasteland."

Zhi leaned over and peered at Ban's map. "We're not far from the Si Wong desert. Maybe there was a drought?"

"There wasn't a drought! Zhi, the _Fire Empire_ did this! They denuded the landscape and made hundreds of people homeless! They don't care about anyone or anything except for their own selfish gains!" Yong was on his feet now, pacing and furious. He suddenly stopped, and turned to Ban. "We'll go to the camps."

Ban looked up with a frown. "Th' camps? Yong, we can't stay that long." His eyes flicked to Zhi. "It's a risk."

"I know." Yong tugged at his beard, thinking. "But I think Zhi needs to see."

"What do I need to see?" asked Zhi, but the two men ignored her.

"She don't need to see nothin'." replied Ban. "_We_ need to git back."

"Zhi's new blood, and Geb knows we could use it. Besides, the Lady would be very interested to meet her."

Zhi scowled. _I'm right here, you know_, she wanted to say, but stopped herself. This could be interesting.

"But what's that to do with th' camps? Yeh've heard her, she's a Fire Empire child. Yong, yer wastin' yer energy."

"I don't think I am," murmured Yong quietly, and Ban looked away. A moment passed, and then Yong said, at his normal volume, "You do not have to come, and in fact it might be better if you don't, in case we are captured. But I am taking Zhi to see the camps."

Ban looked up and met Yong's eyes. "Fine," he said. "_Fine_. But ah don't like it. If yeh don't come back in a day, ah'll leave without yeh."

Yong looked back, his jaw set. "Fine." He turned to Zhi. "Zhi, follow me."

Zhi followed. She was terribly curious to know what all this was about, but also concerned. As long as she had traveled with them, Ban and Yong had never argued. Now they were splitting up, just to show her some camp? What was going on?

Zhi and Yong continued through the barren landscape. It was extremely boring and Zhi began humming a song to pass the time, until Yong shushed her. "Fire patrols could be anywhere," he muttered. "We need to stay quiet." So once again, Zhi was left alone with her thoughts.

After what must have been hours of walking, Zhi could make out a strange glitter on the horizon, flanked by dark masses. Yong stopped for a rest, and tuned to Zhi. "Zhi, the people who lived here did not disappear. They lost their livelihoods, but there was nowhere for them to go. The Si Wong Desert to the north, the Great Foggy Swamp to the south, the Nahash Mountains to the east. They were left without anything."

"But what about the factories?" asked Zhi, feeling somewhat exasperated. "Couldn't the factories offer them jobs?"

Yong grimaced. "Yes, and that was even worse."

"What?"

"You'll see."

The first thing she became aware of was the smell. It started as a faint whiff, then became stronger as they went on, carried by the breeze. It was like a latrine, but fouler and more cloying, hanging in the air. Zhi coughed quietly, then moved the front of her shirt to cover her mouth and nose.

The dark mass along the shining river began to coalesce as they drew near, turning into a village, and then into a slum. Houses focused into shacks, into tents, into lean-tos made out of crudely hewn wood and metal. The river morphed from a ribbon of light into a sickly-brown, turgid waterway, crowded on both sides by the ramshackle hovels, extending out into the water in rickety boats and rafts. Yong said nothing, leading Zhi nearer to the source of the smell.

The hovels were fringed by piles of refuse and bundles of rags, which Zhi and Yong had to pick their way through. As Zhi stepped over one bundle, she glanced down, and saw with a shock that it was a human being, too filthy to determine sex or age but human, nonetheless. It made no movement to get out of the way, and appeared to be asleep, despite the fact that it was midday. Zhi shuddered and stepped closer to Yong, who merely walked on through the castoffs of humanity in silence.

They slipped through the houses, towards the banks of the stinking river. The source of the stink became apparent, as the river was flanked by latrines and garbage, from bits of metal to rotting fish bones. People were everywhere, bundled in rags and staring at Zhi and Ban, edging away from them. A woman dipped a bucket into the filthy river for water, and another sat on the stoop of a hovel, cradling an oil lamp. Every person had the same empty eyes and slack expression, as if they weren't really there. Like they were somewhere else.

Zhi felt a sudden tug at her skirt and looked down at a small child with sunken cheeks and horribly thin arms. His hair was matted, his skin dirty, his face empty. "Spare some food or coppers, miss?" he asked.

Zhi could barely even speak. "Oh," she tried, but could only whisper. "No."

The child let go and walked off, feet dragging, and it was all it took for Zhi to tear her eyes away. She turned around. "Yong…" she started.

Yong gestured around him. "Behold," he said bitterly. "The Po Huai province, pride of the Earth Kingdom."

"Yong… this is…" Zhi swallowed, and imagined that she could almost taste the smell of the raw sewage. "I don't understand…"

"You don't understand? Still, you don't understand?" Yong looked furious. "Ask any person here, and they will tell you. The ones with factory jobs are the lucky ones. They get long hours of labor, foul air and fouler water, and a pile of junk they can call home. The rest make do with nothing."

Yong stopped and stared at Zhi. "Don't you understand?" he said quietly. "They destroy everything they touch."

Zhi gritted her teeth. Something hot was fluttering in her chest, and her fists clenched.

"They… the Fire Empire did this?"

"The Fire Empire tore this community apart, Zhi. Look around and get to know it, because the Earth Kingdom is full of these places."

"This… this has to stop. It isn't right." The words surprised Zhi, but as she thought about it, she realized that they were true.

"Zhi, this is what we are fighting for." Yong's hand was suddenly on Zhi's shoulder, his voice kind. "We are fighting against those who do this to other people. Do you want this to continue?"

"What? No…"

"Then fight with us, Zhi." Yong's face was right there, in front of hers. "Zhi, if you don't help us, you're allowing this to happen. You don't want to be a collaborator with the people who do this, who tear apart families and communities and kingdoms, do you?"

"No… I…" _People who tear apart families, like they tore apart_ her _family. Does this mean that all the other things he said the Fire Empire did… those are true too?_

"It's okay to be scared. They are strong, but we are stronger, because we are _right_. No fire can burn forever. The Earth Kingdom _will_ prevail. Will you be a part of it?"

Zhi looked down. Was there any real argument left? The great Fire Empire was corrupt. It destroyed people. She had been spared for a while, but now look at her, adrift with two wanderers for the crime of being herself. It was clear as day, but it still hurt to think it.

"So are you with us, or against us?" Yong's expression was so open, so hopeful, a beacon of light in a place of despair.

"With you." It came out in a rush, and Zhi was amazed at her own audacity. Would she really turn traitor? _I am a traitor by nature. I am a waterbender. Do I have a choice?_

_I've been lied to all my life. The lies stop now. I am what I am._

Zhi looked up at Yong, who was beaming. "I am with you."


	4. The Movement

Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon. Many of the characters and concepts here belong to Hotspur, and are borrowed with permission.

**This story is based off of the AU built up by Hotspur in her epic fanfiction, "Downfall." If you are confused, go read it; it's awesome!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Movement**

Rain.

Zhi was startled out of her thoughts by a soft, wet impact on her face. Clouds had been building for days, darkening the skies and making her hair frizz, so the rain was not totally unexpected, but she was taken off guard nevertheless. _So much for the fire_, she thought glumly, watching as the coals steamed and sputtered. _Oh, well. The sun will rise soon, and hopefully we won't get any redbellies until then._

Zhi lifted her hand experimentally and pushed at the raindrops. It was surprising how easy it was, stopping the rain from falling. She smiled in the darkness. _I can be my own umbrella, and there's no one to tell me to stop._

The rain couldn't get her down. Not really. Not even the long hours of night watch, peering into the darkness for wild animals or Fire Empire soldiers, could depress her mood all that much. Zhi had her own light, a little secret she carried, and she didn't need to be ashamed anymore.

Zhi hated the Fire Empire. She had to. She must. She hadn't realized it at first, and it had come as a surprise, the amount of ardor she had summoned within herself when Yong had spotted a troop of soldiers in the distance. But why shouldn't she hate them? They were child killers, land despoilers, corrupt, amoral murderers, and they deserved to die. It all made perfect sense now. She couldn't believe she had ever bowed to the image of the Fire Emperor, and tried her best not to think about it. That was the past. She could do what she wanted now, could think what she wanted now. It was so freeing. And she could waterbend however much she wanted.

Well, sort of. Her right arm was getting tired, so Zhi switched to her left, tossing the water she had pooled above her off to the side. Yes, things were definitely better than she had expected. Ban seemed to trust her more now, and when Yong wasn't telling her stories of the Fire Empire's crimes, Ban would speak, in his exotic, slow drawl, of his home where they were headed. Zhi got the picture in her head of a comfortable, welcoming place, protected by the roots and branches of the Great Banyan, where everything you could want from life could be found in nature, just a short walk outside.

"It's the damned redbellies," he said one night. "They want shippin' up the Aphar River, fer the steel mills. But the swamp is in the way, so they want it gone. They try to burn it, cut it, drain it, blast it. They tried to kill the Great Banyan." A look of pain crossed his face. "One of the village elders -you would have liked to meet him, Zhi, he was a great bender- he tried to protect the tree, but they took him down. Killed him dead, the bastards. But the Movement, they were takin' shelter in the swamp, and they came to the rescue. They saw we needed help, and they stayed. We help each other." Ban looked up at Zhi. "It's a-whatchoo call it, Yong? A… sambitic relationship."

"Symbiotic," corrected Yong.

"Whatever. Anywho, we give them a place to base their operations, keep safe, and they protect the swamp from the redbellies. Empire's got damn near everywhere else, but they ain't got us!" Ban leaned back and chuckled.

"Tell me more about the Movement," said Zhi. If she was joining these people, she felt she had a right to know everything.

"The Earth Kingdom Nationalist Movement," started Yong. "It started as just a local resistance in the Earth Kingdom, before Ba Sing Se fell, but it's been growing and absorbing other groups since then. They'll treat you well, Zhi, don't you worry. Our leaders have always valued children. Probably because they started out as no more than kids themselves…" Yong drifted off. "Such a pity. But the war touches all lives, even the youngest."

Zhi nodded. That made sense. Hadn't she herself been a war baby, abandoned to die? Fury suddenly clenched in her stomach. Whatever had happened to her real parents, the Fire Empire would pay for it!

Meanwhile, Zhi's left arm was starting to tire as well. Was bending like a muscle, and had her long neglect of it made it atrophy? Well, Yong had promised her that she could have proper training once they got to the swamp. She flung the pooled water away with a sigh and allowed herself to just soak in the rain. After all, she was a waterbender, so it shouldn't bother her, right?

Apparently wrong. Her clothes and hair began to cling to her body and itch, and Zhi started to shiver. Great. She longed to go back into the nice, dry rock tent with Ban and Yong, but she knew that night watch was important. Even though it was highly unlikely that firebenders would attack on a rainy night, and most wild animals were probably taking shelter. Probably.

Zhi sighed. Just another sacrifice for the cause.

* * *

It was, Ary thought, difficult to tell where Orli ended and the girl began. Twined together in a mesh of robes and limbs, Orli and his girlfriend were quite a bewildering, and somewhat off-putting, sight. Ary stared uncomfortably for a few moments, then cleared his throat.

"A-hem."

When neither Orli nor the girl came up for air, he tried again, this time louder.

"A-HEM."

"Mmph," said Orli, and opened his eyes to look at his friend. His lips disengaged with a soft pop, and his eyebrows rose. "Ary! What a surprise! Been there long?"

The girl giggled and flushed. Ary looked away, his cheeks getting hot. He shouldn't have come, this was obviously a bad time…

"So what brings you to my place, your highness?" Orli grinned, and made no attempt to bow or even unknot himself from the girl. It was a terrible faux pas, but Orli knew that he could get away with anything when Ary was around.

"I came to say farewell," said Ary, grasping to keep his dignity even after being placed in the decidedly undignified role of voyeur. "You… you're still leaving first thing tomorrow, for the south?"

Orli nodded, while the girl started stroking his hair distractingly, pulling gently at his growing sideburns. "Yeah, I am. Thanks for coming over. Oh, yeah, this is Azia, from the Laohu clan." He gestured towards the girl on his lap, who inclined her head, still giggling. "She came to say goodbye, too."

"Nice to meet you," mumbled Ary, feeling dreadfully embarrassed. Orli, however, didn't seem to mind.

"You're leaving too, soon, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm going to address the Tribe at Sohar." Ary sighed. He had to admit, it was not something he was looking forward to. Tribal visits were always so unpleasant… especially when he had to deal with that one they'd chosen as a popular leader. The sooner it was over, the better. "But I'll be back soon after that. What about you? Do you know where you're going?"

"South of Omashu, I think. Shoutaku province. They keep trying to extend the railroad down there, but the resistance keeps sabotaging it. So it'll be mostly guard duty." Orli made a face, and Azia began massaging his shoulders. "No fun, but if I ever want to raise in the ranks I need to complete my duty for the Empire."

"Hmm. Sounds like something your father would say."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Orli twined a lock of Azia's hair around his finger and sighed. "I'd better not be turning into him, you know what I mean?"

Ary made a noncommittal grunt. He was hardly an expert on the subject of turning into one's parents, seeing as it was utterly impossible for him to do so. Just thinking about it was making him feel low, and he turned his face away.

When Ary looked back at his friend, he was once again absorbed in looking like he was trying to consume Azia's face. This was, if Ary was keeping track correctly, Orli's third girlfriend this month. Ever since he'd broken up with his girl Sai, he'd just been going from one young lady to another like they were rhinos for rent. What, exactly, girls saw in Orli he couldn't be sure, but whatever it was seemed to have passed by _him_ entirely. He was a prince! Shouldn't females be falling over themselves to get to him? _Oh, don't fool yourself,_ Ary thought glumly. _It's your blood, and you know it._

"Could you stop that and look at me for a moment?" snapped Ary irritably. "I'm trying to have a conversation!"

"What's your problem, Ary?" returned Orli, once again breaking away from Azia's mouth. "I'm trying to say goodbye to my girl, who I might not see again for months! _You're_ the one who interrupted. What's the matter with you? Is it _that_ time of the month?"

Ary frowned, and crossed his arms. "Agni, you're immature."

"It is, isn't it? Full moon, damn."

Ary swung halfheartedly at Orli, who positioned his body in front of Azia, laughing. "You hit like a girl, too."

_Better not let Sakura hear you say that._ Ary slumped his shoulders, biting back his retort. He didn't really want to argue with his friend, but cursit if he wasn't infuriating! But Orli, it seemed, couldn't stay mad, and he gently pushed Azia away and stood up, swinging his arm around Ary's shoulders. "Hey," he said, "No hard feelings, okay? I didn't mean it. But you know, I bet it's because you never bend. It gets all backed up, makes you moody. You should go to a healer about it."

Ary grunted, and Orli laughed. "Look, I don't want to say goodbye like this. Just give me a second, won't you?"

Orli walked back over to Azia, who looked fairly put off. "I'm sorry, my pet, my blossom," murmured Orli, as Ary rolled his eyes. "My little Azzy. You know I love you. Just give me a moment with my friend, and then we'll pick up where we left off, okay?"

After Azia sighed in resignation and nodded, Orli put his hand on Ary's shoulder. "Write to me, won't you?" he asked, his tone softer than it had been before.

"Of course," replied Ary, smiling. "I'll send a hawk every day." He stroked his chin, inclining his head inquisitively. "Are you nervous?"

"What, me? Nervous? No! It's just guard duty. I doubt the rebels will even show up, much less threaten anything." Orli shrugged. "As I said, boring."

"Oh, well." Ary paused. "I… guess I'll leave you two alone, then," he said, turning back to the palanquin.

"Sure thing, bro." Orli turned back to Azia, who threw her arms around his shoulders.

"Oh, and, Orli…"

"Mmrph?"

"Good luck."

* * *

Zhi was fairly certain that if the rain wasn't getting her wet from the outside in, the humidity was making sure she was getting wet from the inside out. The lowlands were wet, warm, and wild, full of calling birds and biting flies. She saw Ban rubbing mud on his skin and wrinkled her nose at the poor hygiene, but after only a few days of being tormented by insects she began to emulate him, and was amazed at the relief. Yong, for his part, had a harder time putting up the nightly rock tent through the deepening mud and soil, and more and more often the three of them simply huddled under the trees for shelter.

The trees, Zhi noticed, were getting larger, thicker, older, and lusher. As they walked over ground that was swiftly becoming mud and water, criss-crossed by gargantuan roots, Zhi would look up, and up, and still not see their tops. She had never seen anything like it before. The trees made her feel terribly dizzy and small, even a little awed. And something else too…

With every step forward, something seemed to urge her onward. Her mind began to wander, not really paying attention as she walked. What a strange feeling that was, like expanding, like floating, drifting with the wind, onward, unceasing… there was a pull, and she had to stop and grab a tree branch to keep steady, because she was suddenly in many places at once and the world was sun shining on her branches and cool water in her roots and _someone was watching_ and…

"Zhi!"

"W-what?" The sensation was gone just as quickly as it had come, and she was back in her own body.

"Are yeh all right? Yeh looked like yeh was about t' faint or somethin'."

"No… I'm okay… maybe I need a little rest…"

When they went on, Ban and Yong started checking the trunks of the trees, feeling with fingertips for carved symbols at navel level, and Zhi joined them, remembering the code that Yong had taught her. _A triangle means scouts are in the trees. A cross means danger. Downward arrow is Fire Empire. Circle means food and supply stores. Square is all clear._ When Ban found a square, carved roughly into the wood, his eyes shone, and even Zhi's heart fluttered with his infectious excitement. They were getting close.

They came that night, during Yong's watch, armed men with hard expressions, some wearing dirty green clothing and others nearly naked except for loincloths, dropping down from the trees. Zhi was frightened at first (_this is too much like what happened at home_), but at a few whispered words from Yong their entire demeanor changed. The men dropped their swords and smiled broadly, greeting their own, but their shoulders stayed tense.

"Isn't this spot supposed to be 'clear?'" asked Zhi in a whisper, looking around at their escort.

"Yeah, but yeh can't be too careful these days," said Ban darkly as the three travelers followed the men out. "I'm not surprised there's extra scouts."

A blood-curdling scream suddenly rang out through the trees, and Zhi jumped to Yong's side with a gasp. One of the men laughed. "'S okay, missie," he said. "It's jess' a screamer-bird. Nothin' to hurt you."

"Oh… that was a bird?" Zhi stepped away from a smiling Yong, feeling foolish. "Ha."

The men led Zhi through the swamp, walking on the immense roots of the trees to where they had camouflaged several canoes in the vegetation. Zhi, who had never been on a boat in her life, much less a tiny wooden canoe, stared uncertainly as Ban and Yong climbed in.

"Zhi, get in."

"Are you sure? That they won't sink?" Zhi took a cautious step into the canoe with Yong, and squealed as it shifted slightly under her weight. Yong reached up and grabbed her arms, lowering her gently but firmly into the canoe. Her eyes were wide and slightly panicked, and at the look on her face Yong smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Zhi. These are water- worthy. I've ridden in them enough times to know."

Only slightly reassured, Zhi reached to the side to grasp the side of the boat, though it did little good. One of the barely-clothed men got in the back as Zhi looked around. "What's going on? There aren't any paddles."

"They don't work with paddles. They work by waterbending. Pay attention."

Zhi watched as the man in the back cracked his knuckles and spread his arms. _He's a waterbender?_ thought Zhi, taking in the man's rather disheveled appearance, unshaven face and raggedy loincloth. _He looks like a savage… is he wearing _leaves?

Then, the waterbender's arms started whirling, and Zhi was too busy hanging on for dear life to have the wherewithal to think much of anything. Powered by bending, the boats practically flew over the water, a fine spray going off to either side as they went. The swamp passed by in a blur, and Zhi's knuckles went white on the canoe's sides. _Oh spirits, I'm going to die. I'mgonnadieI'mgonnatodieI'mgonnadie_.

But after a few minutes of gripping on to the side and making pathetic yelping noises, it entered into Zhi's mind that they were not, in fact, going to die. In fact, despite the breakneck speed and the close proximity to two rather unwashed bodies in the tiny boat, it was almost starting to feel… fun. "Takes some getting used to!" shouted Yong, trying to make himself heard over the rush of wind and water. "But it's the only way to travel in the swamp!"

The boats turned a sharp corner and Zhi shrieked, but this time with as much glee as terror. Hearing her, Ban shouted over from another boat: "Yeh like this, Zhi? Wait 'til yeh try swamp skiin'!"

By the time the boats finally pulled to a stop, Zhi was windblown and panting with exhilaration. "That was… really something," she gasped, and Yong laughed.

"Maybe one day you'll learn how to guide one," said Yong as he helped Zhi from the canoe on to relatively dry land. He gestured behind him. "Well, here we are. Welcome to base camp."

At first, Zhi wasn't even sure what she was looking at. What was on the ground seemed to consist of mostly lean-tos and huts made of wood, some bigger than others but none larger than her old cottage. But the settlement was three-dimensional, with ropes and ladders hanging from the trees and rope bridges going from branch to branch. Zhi craned her neck upward and saw that the trees were thick with huts and platforms, as though they grew shelters instead of fruit. Zhi's shoulders slumped. More _camping._ And worse, more _dirt_. The base camp wasn't, after a moment of thought, all that different from how she had been living over the past couple weeks, but she _had_ been going on the assumption that she was headed towards someplace a little nicer, with proper houses at least.

"You… live in the trees?" said Zhi, after taking a moment to compose herself.

"Some do," said Ban, moving up alongside her. "I prefer the ground myself." He suddenly smiled broadly. "What do yeh think of my home?"

"It's… uh… very… nice."

"Zhi, come here." Young took her by the arm and began leading her away, through the jumble of huts. "There's someone who will want to meet you. Are you coming, Ban?"

"Hmm, do yeh think yeh could make the report without me, Yong? I wanna go see if I can find mah wife. I ain't seen her in…"

Yong nodded. "I understand. This way, Zhi."

The place seemed to be home to an eclectic mix of people, from leaf-bedecked swamp men to barefoot earthbenders to raggedy refugees. Many people were staring as they walked through the camp, probably at her, and Zhi resisted the impulse to stare back. _This place is so small_, she thought. _Are these people all there are fighting the Fire Empire?_

Yong brought Zhi through the settlement to one of the larger huts. It was incredibly flimsy looking, made out of bark, wood, and vines, and Zhi was amazed that it could even stand up. She could hear voices coming from inside, although they ceased immediately when Yong rapped on the door, which looked like, and was, a slab of driftwood. "Wait out here for a minute," he said, and slipped inside.

Zhi was able to wait for a just a few moments before curiosity compelled her to put her ear to the loose doorframe. A man was speaking, in a low, calm voice. "Yong. It is good to see you. We've been waiting for your report."

"We're fairly certain," came Yong's muffed reply. "That the railway is being set up to replace messenger hawks as the primary letter carrier in all the occupied Earth Kingdom. It could halve or even quarter the time it takes for messages to travel between the provinces and Ba Sing Se. So sabotaging their efforts could really hurt the Empire's communications infrastructure."

"And did you?"

"We blew up two refueling stations and set three coal mines on fire. They will have trouble getting fuel for their engines for quite a while! And if they thought we didn't mean business, we also-"

"Who'er you?"

Zhi whirled around at the voice by her ear, and found herself face to top of the head with a strange, half-naked boy holding a short sword. He was as messy and disheveled as most of the swamp dwellers seemed to be, with hazel eyes and dark skin. "What?" she asked.

"Ah said, who'er you? I dunno you. Whatchoo doin' here?"

"I… my name's Zhi. I'm, um, new. Uh, please put down the sword…"

"Why? I dunno you. Yeh might be a spy!" he yelled, waving the sword around recklessly.

Zhi looked around helplessly. Who was this kid? Where were his parents, and why were they allowing him to carry a sword around? He might hurt himself!

Suddenly the boy squinted at her face, and his mouth opened slightly. "Hey, you got blue eyes, jess' like my mom!"

"I… um…"

"Zhi, you can come in now. They're ready to… oh, hey there Idlu. What are you up to?"

"Don't trust her! She's a spy!" cried the boy, throwing his arms into the air and nearly impaling Zhi with the sword. "She'll betray us all!"

Yong rolled his eyes and tapped Zhi's shoulder. "Don't pay attention to Idlu. He just wants attention. Now come on in."

The inside of the hut was papered in maps. There was a large table with a giant map laid across it, and more maps all along the walls. Some maps had pins stuck into them, others had scraps of notes written all over. There were old maps, new maps, maps of the Fire Archipelago and maps of the Earth Kingdom, every kind of map imaginable. Zhi heard a sharp intake of breath, and turned her eyes towards the people standing in the middle.

There were three men and one woman standing or sitting around the central table, and all of them were staring at Zhi. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to stand up straighter. She could only imagine the sight she presented, covered in swamp muck, her hair a mess, having worn the same clothes for weeks with only the occasional creek to wash in. Of course, everyone in the swamp kind of looked like that, so maybe she shouldn't worry.

"How did you escape?" whispered the woman, and Zhi looked at her more closely. She was fairly young, and was tall with short-cropped hair, dressed like a man with dark skin and a kind face. Her eyes were blue.

"Excuse me?"

"How did you escape from Sohar?" The woman's face was open, hopeful. "Did anyone else escape with you? Do you have any news from the Tribes? How can we help the others?"

_Oh. She thinks I escaped from the Water Tribes' island._ Zhi felt her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. "I didn't escape from Sohar. I grew up in the Earth Protectorate… sorry, the Earth Kingdom."

"Well, how did your parents escape? Please, tell us how we can help…"

Zhi was beginning to feel slightly put off. If all the Movement wanted from her was news of the lost Water Tribes, then they were going to be disappointed. "I'm sorry, I don't know who my parents were. I was adopted when I was a baby."

The woman seemed to deflate for a moment, and she looked away. Then she was striding forward to stand in front of Zhi. "I am so sorry. It was unkind of me to dig up the past like that. Let's look towards the future, shall we?" She smiled, and the sides of Zhi's mouth quirked upwards.

"My name is Kat, and welcome to the Earth Kingdom Nationalist Movement. Yong tells me you're a waterbender. Is that true?"

"Yes…" Zhi looked over her shoulder at Yong, who nodded. "Yeah, I'm a waterbender. I'm really awful though."

Kat put her hand to her chest. "Look at you. Just _look_ at you! Real hope for the Water Tribe, right in front of me! Oh, my dear Zhi, I'm sure you're just fine at waterbending. Have you ever had any training?"

Zhi imagined the look on her parents' faces if she'd ever asked to look for someone to teach her waterbending, and felt a pang. _No. We're not dwelling on the past. We're looking to the future._ "No, never."

"Well, that's fine. You know, I was just about your age when I started my training. I'm sure you'll do marvelously. What do you think, Jet?"

The man standing to the right of the table smiled broadly, taking a blade of grass out of his mouth as he did so. He was tall and slender, with a ruggedly handsome face, a wild mop of brown hair, and a short beard. "I think Zhi will be great," he said, and as soon as he spoke, his presence seemed to fill the whole room. He walked (no, more like _slid_) around the table to appraise her from close up. "We can always use another waterbender. She can start with Shou as soon as possible."

Kat smiled at Zhi. "This is wonderful!" she said happily. "You'll finally be able to connect with your heritage!"

"Yeah," said Zhi. "Right." But the truth was, she couldn't feel much less connected to these strange people living like savages in the swamp. Was this really where she belonged? Wasn't there some mistake? _No. I have to. For Yi, and for Lan. I need to stay so I can learn to fight the Fire Empire._

Once her priorities were back on straight, Yong lead Zhi out of the ramshackle headquarters. "We'll get you a nice spot to stay," promised Yong. "Kat and Jet will inform Shou about you, so you will finally be able to learn waterbending! Aren't you excited?"

"Yeah," said Zhi, and it was the truth. She _did_ want to learn how to waterbend. "But I-"

"Gruuh!"

Zhi frowned at the strange goaning sound echoing down from the trees above. _Was that another bird…?_

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Zhi was smothered by a mountain of fur. She opened her mouth to scream, but her face was full of something wet and warm and sticky that upon appraisal was actually a giant tongue. Before she could react, Zhi was on her back and looking up in shock at an expanse of white and grey.

"Gruuuuph!" it said, opening its mouth wide. Zhi was assailed by a strong animal smell, not terrible, but not exactly flowers either. "Grooooooooooaaaaaa."

Zhi coughed, and the monster turned its immense, shaggy head to fix her with a melon-sized brown eye. Zhi blinked. _Appa?_

Zhi could hear laughter, and a voice was speaking. "Come on, Appa. Leave the new girl alone. Look, I'll give you a treat! Yummy swamp apple! Mmmm…"

A great weight moved off of Zhi's body, and Yong helped her to her feet. She stared at the sight in front of her with her mouth open. The animal that had assailed her was unlike any creature she'd ever seen or even heard of. It was immense, each of its six (_six!_) legs easily the size of a good-sized tree trunk. Its tail was broad and flat, and its head was heavy and horned. The arrow on its brow was so clear that it looked painted. Yet despite its bizarre and almost frightening appearance, it was eating peacefully out of Kat's hands. The woman turned towards Zhi and laughed.

"Looks like Appa likes you."

"I… what…"

The monster swallowed its treat and walked over to Zhi, running its enormous tongue up her body as she tried to flinch away. "Peh! Ugh! What _is_ it?"

"His name is Appa," said Kat. "He's a flying bison. The last of his kind."

"_Flying_? It _flies_?"

"Hard to believe, I know." Jet walked out of the hut, grinning around the sprig of grass. "But Appa here is faster and more maneuverable than any Fire Empire airship."

Appa licked Zhi again, and this time she tried (and failed) to ignore the assault on her personal space. "Whydoes it keep doing that?"

"I told you: he likes you. Here, pet him. He won't bite."

_He's so big, he doesn't even need to bite_, thought Zhi as she cautiously stretched out a hand. _All he needs to do is breathe._ Zhi patted the bison on the head a few times, and got… something. A flash behind her eyes that stayed for a breath, then disappeared.

"He belonged to the last Avatar, didn't he?" she asked, and stopped. _Where did_ that _come from? That was a stupid thing to say…_

"Yes, he did," said Kat, beaming. "You've heard the stories, haven't you?"

"Oh… yeah," said Zhi, quickly covering up. The truth was, all she knew about the Avatar was that he was supposed to bring balance to the world, but he'd disappeared at the beginning of the War, stayed vanished for a hundred years, reappeared for a short while and ignited the world with hope, then died, all before she was even born. What any of that had to do with this… Appa… she didn't' know.

"Mom! Mom! Don't listen to her! She's a spy!" the boy from before, Idlu, was tugging on Kat's pant leg.

Kat smiled down at the boy. "Zhi isn't a spy, love. She's a new recruit. And she's from the Water Tribe, which means she's part of the family. So be nice."

Idlu looked up, eyes narrow in distrust. "You sure she's not a spy, mom?"

"I'm sure. Now go along and play." She suddenly frowned. "Idlu! Is that a real sword?"

"Dad said I could," said Idlu stubbornly, tightening his grip on the blade.

Kat shot a look at Jet. "Oh, did he? Jet, you _know_ better!"

Jet shrugged. "Idlu said he'd be careful."

"Idlu is _ten_! Of course he won't be careful! Will he be 'careful' when he comes back missing his fingers? He's far too young to…"

"Come on, Zhi, let's go." Yong took Zhi's shoulder and led her away from the threatening argument.

"As I was saying, we'll set up a spot for you in the trees, and you can start waterbending soon, maybe even tomorrow. Hmm… what else should you know… we take turns at chores, foraging and hunting, but I know that's not your area of expertise. I'm sure you'll be able to get kitchen duty. Here, let me show you around…"

The base camp could hold about 100 people, but at the moment it was half empty. As Yong showed Zhi the complex system of rope pulls and ladders that allowed access to the higher levels, it became clear that most of it was not on the ground, but rather in the trees. Everything was collapsible and removable in case of discovery by Fire Empire forces. "It's supposed to be invisible from above," said Yong. "And from below most people get lost in the swamp. So don't go wandering off alone, okay Zhi? Strange things happen to people who go wandering off…"

Zhi nodded, peering over the edge of the platform they were sitting on at the ground below. Why would she want to wander into the swamp, anyway? She looked around at the upper levels of the camp. This wasn't so bad, up here. At least it was away from the mud.

"Zhi?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to leave you now, okay? I've got friends meet and catch up with. Will you be okay if I leave now?"

"Oh." Zhi blinked. "Okay." Zhi watched Yong leave with an odd feeling of regret. They'd been traveling together for weeks, and that was it? Goodbye? No, they were both staying in the same camp; she'd see him around.

Zhi leaned back against the trunk of the tree and closed her eyes, savoring a moment of quiet. It was strange… that feeling was coming back, that _pull_. There was a sound at the edge of hearing, like rushing water or breathing… she could just lose herself in it…

"Hey! Hey you!"

Zhi didn't react for a moment. Her limbs were wooden, rooted, immobile. It was too much to even lift her eyelids…

"You're Zhi, aren't you?"

At the sound of her name, Zhi felt the life return to her body. She shook her head, dispelling the remaining vegetative feelings. She was just fatigued, that was all. Just really tired.

"Helloooo? I think she's asleep…"

"I'm not asleep." Zhi turned to the source of the voice, and saw a boy of perhaps twelve or thirteen standing in front of her, surrounded by several other children. All were wild-looking, in varying states of undress and dirtiness. The boy from before, Idlu, was there, right by the older boy's side, and was staring at her intently.

"My brother Idlu tells me that you're a Fire Empire spy," said the boy, fixing her with a glare. "We don't like Fire Empire spies."

"Oh for Geb's sake… I'm not a spy!" Zhi was getting impatient with all these kids. How did that Idlu kid even get the idea that she was a spy into his head anyway? "I grew up in the _Earth Kingdom_. I'm a… a waterbender! I _hate_ the Fire Empire!"

"Really? Prove it." The boy reached back to a holster on his back and withdrew a wicked-looking hooked sword. At his side, Idlu's eyes went wide. "Prove it or else!"

Zhi felt a jolt of fear. This kid wasn't going to hurt her, was he? He wouldn't… "Hey! Hey, calm down, okay! How do you want me to prove it?"

The boy paused to think for a moment, then spat into his hand. "Bend that."

"Bend… what?"

The boy held his hand out. "That."

Zhi stared. _Ew._ But she reached out and pushed, and the spittle flew back in the boy's face

_Whoops_. The children standing around the boy gasped, but to her surprise, instead of reacting with anger, he started laughing. "Oh!" he crowed. "That was a good one!" He drew the heel of his hand across his face, and sheathed the hooked sword.

The boy extended his hand. "My name's Kanu. Welcome to the team, Zhi!"

Zhi took his hand cautiously, wondering at the strange customs of these swamp people. What, so she throws spit in his face and now they're friends?

"Have you taken a look around the camp, Zhi?" asked Kanu, now all smiles and open arms.

"Uh, yeah. Yong showed me around."

"Oh, that's the _boring_ version. Here, let me show you the rope swings…" Zhi suddenly found herself surrounded by the children, and was unable to resist as they pushed and pulled her along.

* * *

"That girl… the new one…" One of the remaining two men in the tent, who was in fact not a man at all but rather a very mannish woman, turned to her companion questioningly. "Did she look at all familiar to you?"

The second man, a tall, thin fellow with long dark hair pulled into a braid, turned and fixed his companion with a look.

"Yeah," she said after a moment, and nodded. "I agree. The resemblance is eerie. Guess it's a Water Tribe thing."

The two did not discuss it further.

* * *

By the end of the day, Zhi was exhausted. Kanu and his pack of children had led her all around the camp and even a little ways into the swamp, pointing out every interesting berry bush or good skiing waterway they knew of. She couldn't say that it was completely unwanted, as she certainly was getting to know where everything in the camp was located, but it was a bit much. She certainly couldn't imagine herself strapping planks to her feet and attempting to walk on water, which was how Kanu described his favorite activity.

That night, after a full meal of some odd meat that tasted like chicken-swine, Zhi curled up to sleep in a blanket on a platform in the branches of a living, breathing tree. And for once, the dreams that came were not of fire and flight, but of cool leaves and the depths of the earth.


	5. Into the Woods

Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon. Many of the characters and concepts here belong to Hotspur, and are borrowed with permission.

**This story is based off of the AU built up by Hotspur in her epic fanfiction, "Downfall." If you are confused, go read it; it's awesome!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Into the Woods**

Zhi stared at the bowl in front of her. The morning's porridge appeared to consist of approximately fifty percent boiled rice and fifty percent (here she nudged the stuff with her chopsticks, just to be sure) boiled _grubs_. _They don't honestly expect me to eat this,_ she thought._ Do they?_

Zhi looked to Yong, who was tucking into his insect-infested meal without protest. "Um, Yong? I think the rice is… bad."

Yong looked up, and his eyebrows rose. "You don't like it?"

"It's, er…" How could she put this without insulting her hosts? She opted for honesty. "It's full of worms."

Yong grinned. "Ha! Oh, it's alright. They're just woodworms. I found it a bit odd too, at first, but they're not bad. The Swamp Tribe adds them to everything."

Zhi grimaced. "You mean they eat _bugs_? On purpose?"

"It takes a little getting used to, but yes."

Zhi put her bowl down, her appetite strangely gone. "I think I'll pass."

"Zhi, you have to eat. You shouldn't bend on an empty stomach."

"Ah'll take yer food, if yeh don't want it." Idlu rushed up to grab her discarded bowl and started shoveling the insect and rice mixture into his mouth. At the look of disgust on Zhi's face, he grinned. "Mmm! Good like cracklin'!"

Zhi shuddered. _So gross_. She looked around at the population of the base camp, all of who were gathered around the communal cookpot for their porridge. No one else seemed to object to the abnormally high protein content of their breakfasts, but seeing as most of the people were hardly wearing any _clothes_, Zhi wasn't sure how to judge the normalcy of anything. "Maybe… do you have any more of that stuff we had last night?"

"Well, we ate all the 'possum-chicken," said Idlu, and giggled. "So looks like yeh gotta eat the bugs!"

But before Zhi could respond, she heard her name being called. She turned around to see Kat walking up, leading a rather dilapidated-looking old man. "Mom!" chirped Idlu happily.

"My Lady," said Yong, and bowed.

Kat made a waving motion with her hand. "None of that, Yong! I'm no Lady." She smiled kindly at Zhi and gestured to the old man at her side. "Zhi, This is Shou. He's the best waterbender in the Swamp, and he taught me everything I know."

Zhi looked at the man's exposed, wrinkly, thin, saggy self, and suppressed a groan. The 'best waterbender in the swamp' looked like he could keel over at any second. She realized that she should probably say something. "It's… very nice to meet you."

Shou leaned forward and cupped a hand around his ear. "Eh?"

"I said IT'S VERY NICE TO MEET YOU."

"Yes, I like meat too," said the old man, and Zhi looked from the still pleasantly smiling Kat to the hopeful looking Yong to Idlu, who had his fist shoved in his mouth. _You've got to be kidding._

"Shou has offered his talents to help teach you waterbending. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Oh, yeah. That's great. Thank you." Zhi bowed to Shou, fist pressed to palm but, at a disapproving look from Yong, changed to the way he had done it, with her arms at her sides.

Shou smiled toothlessly. "Ah'm happy to teach you, little lady," he said loudly. "We can git started soon as yer done eatin'."

"Oh, I think I'm done." Zhi stood up and brushed herself off as best as she could, frowning slightly as her fingers came into contact with the dried swamp muck on her clothing. _I had better get used to it,_ she thought unhappily. _I doubt I'll be able to get clean anytime soon._

Shou led Zhi away from everyone else and to the periphery of the base camp, wading out into the water. Zhi followed with only a little trepidation, her shoes squelching into the mud.

"Now," said Shou, his voice still just a little too loud. "Show me whatcha can do."

Zhi blinked. "I… I'm sorry, I can't really _do_ anything." She suppressed the desire to add: _That's why I'm here_.

"Eh?"

Zhi rolled her eyes. _Fine, I'll just_ show _him that I can't do anything._ She spread her arms out, and paused. No, there was one thing… She leaned over and cupped her hands in the murky water. She held it between her palms and lifted, and the water hovered in a sphere over her hands. She looked up at Shou, who nodded, and began to draw her shaking hands slowly apart. The water fell.

"Do it again," said Shou, and Zhi again cupped her hands in the water, bringing it up in a liquid orb. She could feel the old man's rheumy eyes on her back as she spread her hands. The water fell.

Zhi stomped her foot in frustration. What was the point of this? She couldn't do it, she was useless, she might as well go home…

Shou tapped the backs of her knees gently. "Yer too stiff," he said. "Bend yer knees and stay flexible. Slide yer foot back, like this." Shou took a step back and cupped his hands, bringing up a sphere of water the size of a small child, then parted them, extending the water into a rope and twirling it over his head before letting it flow back down in a single graceful movement.

Zhi stared in amazement, her mouth open. That was incredible! How… how did he do that, and make it look so _easy?_ Was she supposed to do that?

Zhi tried to slide her foot the way Shou had done, but found herself off-balance and fell into the muddy water. "Keep 'em loose!" nearly shouted Shou. "Loose! Flowin', like the water!"

Her cheeks hot with embarrassment, Zhi quickly got back to her feet and bent her knees. She reached down into the water and brought up a third sphere, trying to ignore Shou's staring. This time, she managed to draw the water into a rope, but at the overhead flourish dropped it on her head.

"Again," said Shou.

"What, again?"

Shou cupped his ear. "Eh?"

"Oh, never mind."

"Eh?"

"NEVER MIND!"

They went on like that for what felt like hours, keeping larger and larger amounts of water in the air for longer and longer periods of time. Shou was gentle, if frustrating in his insistence on repetition, and brought Zhi through a variety of basic poses and stances. Zhi's muscles soon began to cramp. She hadn't expected bending to be so… physical. It wasn't really all that difficult, though, once she got the stance right. Her body already seemed to know many of the movements, like they were obvious, and only needed to be pointed out to be done.

A fog was quickly gathering, giving credibility to the moniker of the "Great Foggy" Swamp, and Shou called for a break.

"Ah'm goin' back t' the camp, alright?"

"Okay."

"Eh?"

"OKAY!"

Zhi sighed and sat down on the bank, letting her arms rest. She hurt, but she certainly felt that she was doing a bit better. She could lift and hold a reasonable amount of water now, though she still dumped it uncontrollably at times.

The call of a screamer-bird rang out through the trees, and Zhi peered around into the soupy air. It was so thick she couldn't even see the base camp anymore. In fact, she couldn't see anyone…

The screamer-bird called again, and Zhi frowned. Was that actually a screamer-bird? It sounded almost like it was saying something. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she shivered. It sounded almost like…

At the third scream, Zhi jumped to her feet, her heart pounding. "Yi?" she shouted. "Yi!"

Another scream, and it was unmistakable now. "Yi!" Zhi shrieked, hope fighting with fear in her heart, and then: "Shou! Yong! Ban! Kat! Someone, please help!"

Her cries were swallowed by the mist, and Zhi sobbed. "Oh, spirits… Yi! Is that you?"

Where was everybody? Couldn't they hear?

Yi's scream sounded again, and Zhi made her decision. She rushed off in the direction of the sound through the shallow water, stumbling and sinking in the mud. She scrambled onto a tree root and ran, her feet slipping out from under her. Zhi could make out the words now, and her heart pounded in her ears. "Help!" Yi's voice screamed. "Help me! Help me, please!"

Zhi picked up her pace, panicked, panting roughly. Trees and vines passed by in a blur. Was that a flickering light she saw?

She burst into the flaming clearing and stopped in shock. The swamp was on fire! Firebenders!

And there, in the middle, crouched Lan and Yi, clutching each other, crying, reaching out to her through the inferno.

_Oh spirits, what do I do? What do I do?_ Zhi looked around desperately, and her eyes fell upon the shallow muddy water. _Water!_

Bending her knees, Zhi reached out with her bending and grabbed as much water as she could hold. Grunting with exertion, she threw all of it at the flames. The air filled with steam. Zhi could see a figure crouched in the middle of the clearing, and ran forward. "Lan!" she shouted. "Yi!"

The figure straightened and looked at her, and Zhi stopped dead in her tracks. That face… she'd know it anywhere, because it was everywhere, on every seal, in the halls of her school, on the pages of books… Zhi was so terrified she couldn't even scream, as the two eyes, one whole, one horribly deformed and slanted with its scar, turned their golden gaze on her. But the Fire Emperor's expression wasn't angry or malevolent, but rather puzzled. He gestured at the scorched clearing. "Did I do that?" he said, in a soft, raspy voice. "Did I do…?"

Zhi stumbled backward and slipped in the mud, sliding, moaning, into the clearing. But when she looked up, the steam was just fog, the Fire Emperor was gone, the ash and destruction were gone, Lan and Yi were gone. She was alone.

Zhi wrapped her arms around her body and shuddered, tears falling unbidden down her cheeks. What was real? Lan and Yi… her family… where were they? What did they think of her, leaving like that without warning? Did they think she was dead? Were they even around to think it?

And where, for that matter, was she? Zhi sniffed and took deep breath, trying to calm herself. She wiped her eyes, leaving long streaks of mud, and peered upward. She seemed to be facing a sheer wall of gnarled wood. Was that all one tree?

Zhi got to her feet and splashed through the shallow water to one of the immense tree roots bordering the clearing. It had no sign of having been burned, and Zhi shook her head. What was it that she had seen? She was _sure_ that it had been burning, that Lan and Yi had been there, had followed her into the swamp despite the intervening distance. And then there had been the Fire Emperor, who had dissolved into nothing in an eyeblink. Zhi felt lightheaded, and closed her eyes, shutting out the world of the swamp.

And there was that… _feeling_ again, like someone was tugging at her from within. There was a rhythmic sound, like a heartbeat, but it wasn't her own. It grew louder, almost to a roar, but it wasn't coming from anything _outside…_

Zhi shook her head, but the feeling wouldn't clear. Her hairs prickled again, and she looked around. "Is someone there?"

Nothing. Zhi looked around, her eyes wide open, but saw only dense vegetation, so thick it blocked out the sun. Where was she? Fear gripped her stomach. What if she couldn't find her way back?

Zhi glanced down at the water surrounding the root she was perched on, and did a double take. Her reflection… she peered closer. Instead of a teenage girl with long, thick hair in a messy tangle down her back, the water showed her a young, bald boy with a dark arrow on his brow, leaning down towards the water's surface. Zhi's heart began to pound, but she couldn't look away. He looked so familiar, like someone she'd known long ago, but she couldn't place it. She'd remember someone so unusual-looking, wouldn't she?

The reflection boy suddenly smiled at her, and drew his finger to his lips in a 'shhhhhhh' gesture. Zhi's mouth fell open. The boy extended a hand and pointed backward, towards the wall of wood. He winked. "What is it?" Zhi whispered, utterly confused. "What are you trying to tell me?"

Zhi leaned closer to the water, and so did the reflection boy. A thought occurred to her. "Are you a spirit?"

Zhi reached towards the water's surface with a hand, the reflection boy mirroring her movements. Their fingers touched each other, making ripples on the surface, but Zhi felt only water. When the disturbance cleared, he was gone, and the reflection was her own.

Zhi shook her head, scolding herself for being so gullible. _I bet it's because I didn't eat anything this morning. It's making me hallucinate. Or some weird kind of swamp gas. Or something…_

Zhi turned around the way the reflection boy had pointed and faced the wall of wood. Now that she looked closer, it was indeed a tree, but one so impossibly large it hardly looked like a tree at all. Her confusion was slowly replaced by fascination, and she walked forward, clambering over the roots. She reached forward and touched the wall. It almost felt… warm. Alive. She pressed her ear to the side of the tree, and her eyes went wide. That _sound_…!

_I've been hearing the tree?_ But that didn't make any sense, even less sense than all the other bizarre things that had happened to her that morning. Trees can't talk, they're _plants_. They don't move, or speak, or breathe, or do anything, really. How could it be calling her? Something seriously weird was going on.

Zhi began to walk around the base of the tree, brushing its side with her fingertips. What she was looking for, she wasn't sure, but she was certain that it would be the answer to the… whatever it was that she'd seen earlier.

The tree truly was enormous. Zhi couldn't be sure, but she fancied that even if the entire population of the base camp, or heck, even her old village, lined up holding hands, they still wouldn't be able to reach all the way around. At the thought of how old it must be, Zhi shook her head. Older than she cared to ponder, that was for sure.

Zhi rounded a curve and stared. A great section of the tree in front of her was burnt and blackened, like charcoal. She felt strangely sad at the sight. Zhi didn't consider herself to be the kind of person who felt sorry for plants, but the idea of such an ancient tree being hurt struck her as somehow wrong. After all, this one tree could very well be one of the oldest living things on earth. That had to count for something, right?

Zhi reached forward and placed her hand on the burnt portion, trying so see if she could feel that same humming of life through the ash, but _burning burning fire pain feel everywhere its burning there's a man draped in weeds and he's fighting fighting I fight pain blood in the water fire fire burning help_

Zhi jerked her hand back, gasping and shaking. For a moment, she'd seen, she'd felt (it's crazy! Impossible!) like she _was_ the tree. Like her crouching body of flesh was continuous with the immense woody form around her, her veins running with sap, her skin thick with bark. The feeling of _immensity_, of her own mass, had been palpable. And now, she felt so… small.

Zhi found herself shivering uncontrollably, and wrapped her arms around herself. What was going on? Why was this happening to her? No, no, she just needed to get back to base camp. Yong would explain everything; nothing bad was going to happen…

Zhi looked around helplessly. How could she get back to base camp? Could she find her way back? No, she couldn't even see the sun for directions! Could she stay here and wait for rescue? No, the swamp was huge…

"YONG!" she cried out. "BAN! Somebody…"

There was no answer. Zhi slumped against the side of the tree. What was she even doing here? It was obvious, painfully obvious, that this wasn't a place for her. The Fire Empire… those problems were too big, too insurmountable, and she was just one girl, lost in the swamp and going crazy, who couldn't even do anything. There was no point!

Zhi took a deep breath. No, there was no time for that right now. She could fall apart later. Now she needed to concentrate on getting back to the base camp. There had to be _something_ she could do, some kind of way out.

Her gaze fell on a creeping vine, easily as thick around as a normal-sized tree, snaking up the side of the enormous tree whose roots she perched upon. If she could climb it… maybe she could get high enough to see the camp! Perfect.

Zhi kicked off her shoes for better purchase and approached the vine. It was rough, twisted and gnarled, perfect for climbing. Gripping the bark with her hands, Zhi went up. As she climbed, Zhi put all thoughts of the strange swamp illusions out of her mind, focusing only on the climbing, and found herself calming down. Now she was doing something productive, and soon she would be safe back at the camp, forgetting about all the bizarre things she'd seen and heard.

Zhi reached for another handhold, careful not to look down. The tree was awfully tall. Shouldn't there be branches or something, so she could rest? She couldn't see anything at all above her, and tried not to think about how high she was, or how she would get back down.

Zhi climbed.

She emerged suddenly through the canopy into open air, and blinked, gripping the vine as hard as she could with her aching limbs. She just wanted to relax, but she knew she needed to keep going until she reached a resting point. The tree couldn't possibly go on forever, could it?

By the time she reached a burl large enough to rest on, Zhi was completely spent. She eased herself onto it with a sigh, closing her eyes and just feeling the light breeze on her face, carrying with it the faint earthy smell of the swamp. Her stomach growled.

When she felt rested enough to open her eyes and look around, her eyes went wide. She was high, so high above the trees that she could see them stretching out in every direction, a carpet of green blanketing the earth. It was an incredible sight, and almost seemed to make the long climb worth it.

That's when it clicked. _This is the Great Banyan, isn't it? In the center of the swamp._ Zhi craned her neck upwards at the enormous umbrella of branches above her, but it was still too tall to make out anything like a top. Once again she was awed by the size and age of the tree. It was practically a living mountain.

But something was wrong. Zhi turned on her perch, and saw a swath of black cut through the seemingly endless green. There, the trees had been reduced to stumps and snags, their branches and leaves replaced by ash. _A forest fire? Fire and blood in the water…_

Zhi grimaced. _The Fire Empire. Of course. Didn't Ban say that they were trying to clear the swamp? No wonder the tree was in pain… No, that's stupid. It's a tree, how can a tree feel pain?_ The thought left Zhi with an unpleasant feeling in her stomach, and to take her mind off of it she began peering around for the base camp.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Yong had been right when he'd said that the camp was invisible from above, since all Zhi could see were trees upon trees. Yup, just trees and trees and trees and a giant bison and trees and… wait.

Zhi's mouth fell open at the sight of the six-legged bison skimming the treetops, looking like nothing so much as a fast-moving, detached piece of cloud. It gave a heave of its tail and soared upward, wriggling its legs in apparent joy at the freedom of flight.

Zhi lept to her feet. "Appa!" she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth. _"Appa!"_ She waved her hands in the air, trying to get the beast's attention, and would have jumped up and down if she didn't think that such an action would spell death at this height.

The flying bison arched his back as if he was going to dive back down into the trees, and Zhi groaned_._ But then he straightened out, and started making a beeline for the Great Banyan.

"Yes! Yes, Appa, good bison! Good bison! Come on, come here, atta boy! Good Appa!"

Appa flew up to the trunk of the Banyan and circled around, displaying an unexpected grace. He turned its head to peer at Zhi curiously, and Zhi stared back, wondering what she should do next. The bison wore no saddle, but his back was broad and flat. Unfortunately, he was too far away to jump. Zhi peeked over the edge of the burl she was perched upon and felt a wave of vertigo. _Oh man. Yeah, I probably shouldn't fall._

Zhi had no idea what commands the bison listened to, but she tried calling out to him anyway. "Appa? Appa, remember me? You knocked me over and licked me yesterday. I'm kind of stuck on this tree. Could you help me get down?" _I'm definitely going crazy. Like he can understand me!_

But, incredibly, the giant bison did drift closer to Zhi's perch, his great mass hanging in the air as lightly as a soap bubble. "Okay," whispered Zhi, steeling herself for the jump. "Okay, I can do this."

There was no room for a running start, so Zhi simply launched herself off the tree trunk towards Appa with a cry. Too late, she realized that he was just a little too far away, and she wasn't going to make it.

Zhi's world seemed to become still, her arms and legs splayed in the air, Appa in front, the Banyan in back. A scream caught in her throat. Then, a sudden gust of wind seemed to catch her, and her hands were clutching at Appa's fur, scrambling for purchase.

Trembling with adrenaline, Zhi sprawled herself onto Appa's back, knotting her fingers into his long fur. _Thank Geb,_ she thought, exhausted, as Appa began to move underneath her. _It'll be alright. It'll be alright._

* * *

The young man in the wooden watchtower sighed heavily and waved a buzzing fly from his face. He usually didn't mind watchtower duty that much, since after all, it gave him an excellent opportunity to catch up on sleep. But today, he wasn't particularly tired, and the flies were getting annoying. One landed on his back and bit down hard, and the young man yelped, waving his hands as he tried to slap the irritating insect. Unfortunately, he was thwarted by the fly's fast reflexes, and was reduced to shaking his fist impotently as it flew away. Yeah, right about now he'd rather be fishing, or coconut harvesting, or even patching the huts. Anything but this.

He looked out to sea despondently, letting the motion of the waves and the sea breeze calm his thoughts. There was no point in wishful thinking. It didn't change the fact that he'd be up here for several more hours.

Suddenly, his eyes focused on a faint speckling of dots on the horizon. His mental functions immediately focused, and he leapt down from the tower with a shout. They were coming.

* * *

The entire village gathered, watching silently as the black iron behemoths pulled into their small wooden harbor. The eyes of the adults were hard and wary, but the children were smiling and hopeful as they whispered amongst themselves. They knew what was coming.

The ships began to unload their cargo, bags of rice appearing alongside barrels of pickled fish, crates of hardtack, and bundles of wood and cloth. The villagers began to swarm around, hands grabbing eagerly and voices shouting for attention. But the officials quickly formed a line and pushed the crowds back, and none-too gently. Last year, there had been a riot when there wasn't enough meat to go around, resulting in the deaths of two people, and they didn't want a repeat of the incident. Now, things were more regimented. The head of each household stepped forward to receive a six-month's supply of food and other necessities, as measured by the number of wives and children, numbers that were rejected if they were not correlated to those kept by the on-island census. In such a way, everyone was sure to get an equal amount. It was a win-win situation for all involved.

So why in Agni's name did they have to make it so difficult? Was it really necessary for the islanders to sneer and spit even as they partook of the fruit of the Water Lord's generosity? They could just be left to fend for themselves, but Lord Ary saw fit to provide them with all their needed essentials once every six months. True, it wasn't the most top-quality material, but it was better than anything they had on the island. Why, they should be bowing, no, _groveling_ in gratitude! But the people of the former Water Tribes were a stubborn lot, and they took the handouts with as much spite as they possibly could.

From inside the ship, Ary watched the supplies get rationed out, unconsciously willing the proceedings to go even slower. The longer it took, the better, as far as he was concerned. The Tribe could be _so_ unpleasant, and he remembered the riot all too well. In fact, it was not until several days later that he finally addressed the Tribe, having delayed as long as was physically possible. The entire adult population of the village was called into attendance, and Ary steeled himself inwardly for the hostile sea of dark skin and blue eyes.

The Lord of the Water Tribe walked out onto the specially prepared platform wearing his golden moon-shaped hairpiece and a fine robe of blue silk, inlaid with red threads in the design of a carp. It was a new robe, as his last one had been ruined by soot during the riot, and he walked carefully and slowly so as not to step on the hem. Impressions were important.

Undoubtedly, Sohar's inhabitants would agree. "Mandatory," the summons had said, which meant trouble for anyone who would rather not face whatever nonsense the Fire Emperor's brat had to spew. In fact, the commander in charge of the island in the Water Lord's absence sent soldiers to the huts of many of the more difficult residents, just to make sure. The soldiers surrounding the villagers as they gathered had not escaped their notice either. And as for the Water Lord himself, he was as well dressed and healthy as they were not, wearing his mocking blue silk and _their_ symbol in gold on his unworthy head. Even his pale-powdered face, with his fake smile and wary eyes, told its own story. A low muttering spread through the crowd. Oh, yes, impressions were _very_ important.

"Men and women of the Water Tribe," he said, with the clear voice and careful enunciation of one brought up for public speaking. "It is a pleasure to see you again. I have been working hard in the capital to improve your lives here, and you will notice that your ration of rice has increased to reflect your growth in population. But I am afraid that I bear bad news as well."

"I have been informed that the new school building is not being used to its full potential. In fact, despite mandatory attendance by all children under the age of twelve, only five percent of your children have actually attended. This is a disgrace."

"I should say so!" Immediately all eyes went to the source of the interruption. The man who had spoken crossed his arms and glared up at Ary. He was a tall fellow, with long hair entwined with beads and a raggedy beard. Ary suppressed a groan. No, please, not _him_… "You're right, that is a disgrace." The man turned around and directed his wrath at the rest of the village. "Who is the filthy traitor who's been sending their kids to school?"

Ary cleared his throat and tried to ignore the troublemaker. "As I am sure you all know, the school building is not there simply for decoration. It is meant for the edification of all of your children, so that they may live better lives as full citizens of the Fire Empire."

The crowd's muttering increased. "I gather that many of you are unhappy with your lives here on Sohar. We at the capital understand and sympathize with your plight. This is why the school exists, to give your children a better tomorrow. Surely you want the best for them, as any parent wants for their child?"

"Do we want better lives for our children? Of _course_ we want better lives for our children! We want them on _our_ terms, raised as proud members of the Water Tribe, not as little Fire Nation stooges!" It was the same man from before, and Ary frowned. They wouldn't have to arrest him again, would they?

"Of course," the Water Lord continued. "For yourselves it is a simple matter of swearing an oath of fealty, and you will be permitted to leave the island. But without an education your opportunities will be limited. People of the Water Tribe, it is imperative that you send your children to school, for their sake."

"An oath of fealty! As if any of us would _ever_ swear loyalty to a traitor like you! Look at you! How _dare_ you pretend to have any authority here? Lord of the Water Tribe my ass!" The man spat into the sand.

Ary looked around at the other villager's faces. They were hard and determined, and he doubted that their thoughts were much different than those spoken aloud. He sighed. He'd known it would come to this. "Very well then. If this is how you feel on the matter, then you leave me no choice. The future of your children is the most important thing. They will be brought to a center on Lingyu Island, where they will be taken care of like one of our own. There, they will be raised properly, in a civilized manner, and they will learn the lessons they should have been learning here. When their education is complete, they will be given the option to return to Sohar or to continue on into the world as fully realized members of society. This decree will be put into motion within the next few days. Resistance will be dealt with. Are there any questions?"

The muttering died away. There was a long silence, before the spokesman from earlier finally said something. "You're going to take away our kids?" The shocked expression on his face twisted into rage. "You're going to take away our _kids_? How… how dare you? How DARE you? You Fire Nation _bastard_! Yeah, I have a question! What makes you think we won't fight to the _death_ to keep our families together?"

The crowd, now roiling with anger, surged forward towards Ary's dais, and the soldiers around the periphery made their move, blocking the way with their swords. A scream split the air as one of the soldiers was stabbed with what appeared to be a primitive spear, little more than a sharpened stick. The offender was immediately tackled to the ground by another soldier, but the crowd trampled over them, trying to get to Ary. He took a nervous step back.

The air was full of screams and shouts now, as the firebenders tried to contain the building riot, and the smell of smoke was in the air. Ary looked around desperately. The ships! They would be safe!

The Lord of the Water Tribe turned tail and fled from his own people, leaving the soldiers to clean up the mess.

* * *

"Sokka."

The impertinent spokesman was huddled over the fire, sharpening his spear with a knife cut from obsidian. The Empire allowed no metal on the island, perhaps fearing that they might make weapons from it, but there were other ways of doing damage.

"Sokka, please."

The white-haired woman walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You have to come to bed. They won't come tonight."

Sokka looked up at Yue through heavily hooded brows. "They might. And I need to be ready for them."

"But after that scene you made during the speech, they'll know that you'll be ready to defend us from them. So they won't come."

"But what if they know that we'll think that they know we're ready and won't attack, so _do_ attack, just to catch us unawares?"

"Well, what if they assume that we've second-guessed them, and know that we know that they know that we know, and so don't attack?"

"But what if they know that we know that they know that we know that… ungh, my head…"

Yue laughed softly. "Sokka, they won't attack tonight. But you need to be ready to face them tomorrow. Please, come get some sleep."

Sokka closed his eyes. "They're going to win," he said softly. "They're going to win, because they've been preparing for it. Did you hear him? This wasn't something he thought up on the spot. He has probably been planning this for ages. And now they're going to take away Sisa and Imik and Malruk…"

Yue hugged her husband fiercely. "No, they won't. We won't let them. _I_ won't let them."

"But how? I don't have any ideas…"

"We'll think of something," murmured Yue, rocking back and forth gently. "We'll think of something. Maybe he can be reasoned with?"

Sokka sighed. "That would be nice. But I doubt it. What does he have to gain by listening to us? It's not like he ever has in the past."

The water tribesman suddenly looked up with a start, watching a figure moving across the sand towards the campfire. His grip tightened on the makeshift spear, and he whispered harshly to Yue. "Go into the hut. Quickly, and wake up the kids."

The lone Fire Empire messenger jogged into the circle of firelight surrounding Sokka, and without so much as a 'hello, excuse me' unrolled a scroll and began to read aloud.

"In light of recent events, the manufacture and possession of all weapons including but not limited to swords, spears, knives, clubs, and arrows, are prohibited on the island of Sohar, except where certified by the Lord of the Water Tribe or by other officials acting in His name. The possession of such a weapon is punishable by one week in jail for each weapon possessed, and the manufacture of such a weapon is punishable by three weeks in jail for each weapon manufactured. This decree goes into effect immediately. Any inconvenience is sincerely regretted, signed, Lord Ary of the Water Tribe."

The messenger looked down his nose at Sokka. "I am sorry sir," he said. "But it seems as though the tool you are holding fits the description."

"What, this?" Sokka hefted the spear over his shoulder and smiled winningly. "This is a tent post. Needs to be sharp to drive it into the sand."

The messenger's expression did not change, and Sokka's smile vanished. "Listen," he said. "We do have to live, you know. Knives for cutting, spears for fishing, arrows for hunting, not that there's anything to hunt, but anyway, you can understand that, right? Just let it go. No harm done."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I am going to have to ask you to drop the weapon."

There was the crunch of metal boots on sand, and Sokka saw the dark shapes of soldiers moving along the shore. Sokka dropped his gaze. "Bastard," he whispered, and dropped the spear.

A soldier emerged from the shadows, the light flickering on his mask making him look like a demon, and he bent down and scooped up the spear. "Many thanks for your cooperation, sir," said the messenger, and he and the soldiers disappeared into the night.

* * *

Two days later, the sun rose to the sound of screaming. Desperate, terrible screams and sobs, like souls were being torn apart. Spear points kept frantic mothers and fathers at bay, while strong hands secured the arms of small children. At times, that wasn't enough, and then the swords had to come out, and the smoke, and the fire. Some families fled into the jungle, but they were followed on rhino back, and couldn't run fast enough. Harder to quell were the waterbenders, but that was expected, and they were driven from the sea and fought hard.

Ary watched the proceedings with a sick feeling in his stomach. It wasn't that he was worried, no, the islanders were severely outmatched. Perhaps he just felt squeamish about hurting his own people? Ary gritted his teeth. No, they were _not_ his people. They were just people he was responsible for. He simply had to do what was right and show Father that he could be a strong, capable leader. But every time he visited, it became more and more obvious that the adult population of Sohar would never cooperate. They were lost to him and to the Fire Empire, and he should have realized that long ago. The hope was in the children, who could still be brought up correctly. It seemed that it was the savage upbringing that made the savage, and if that had to be broken then so be it. After all, such had been the case with him, and look at how well he had turned out.

A plume of thick smoke began to rise from the jungle, and Ary sighed. More collateral damage. Well, maybe he was doing them a favor. Reducing the overpopulation and all that. Maybe he'd pay them back afterwards with some jungle clearing. Clearing the jungle with fire might actually allow the islanders to establish some agriculture! If they would even bother…

The soldier's grip was bruising on Sokka's arms, but it wasn't as painful as the look on little Imik's face as he was carried out the door, nor as lasting as Yue's screams. He gladly would have run himself through on one of the soldier's swords if it would bring his children back, but they were going further and further away and he couldn't even move, couldn't even _fight_, couldn't do anything but scream and curse the Water Lord's name as his family was torn apart.

The iron behemoths left with their cargo bays full of tiny minds for the molding, and left the broken, burning island behind them.


	6. The Calm Before

Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon. Many of the characters and concepts here belong to Hotspur, and are borrowed with permission.

A/N: The lullaby at the end, with a few small changes, is from Rudyard Kipling's "The White Seal.'

**This story is based off of the AU built up by Hotspur in her epic fanfiction, "Downfall." If you are confused, go read it; it's awesome!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Calm Before  
**

"Now," Shou was saying, "this ain't an easy thing to do. It takes more than jess' force. Takes concentration, an' a _gentle_ hand. Yeh understand me?"

Zhi looked up from where she and Shou crouched on either side of a blade of grass. "Yes," she said, and was sure to nod as well, so that he understood her.

Shou extended an arm and cupped his hand, moving it back and forth. The blade of grass began to sway along with it, as if being blown by a breeze, though the air was still. "Ah'm not as good at this as ol' Hue was," wheezed Shou. "But try an' see if yeh can feel it. The water's there, jess' hidden."

Shou motioned, and Zhi extended her hand as he had, trying to feel something. After a moment, there was a tingle in her fingertips, and she realized that Shou was right. There _was_ water there, inside the plant. She brushed her fingertips along the leaf, following the movement of the water from roots to the tip. She pulled.

The grass instantly withered and turned brown, and Zhi stared in a mixture of fascination and alarm as few drops of moisture gathered in her hand. "Ah, now that ain't good," said Shou. "You killed it."

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Yeh pulled too hard. It's a gentle motion. Don't call the water to you, jess' let it move. An' the plant's a livin' thing, so respect it. If yeh take authority over it, it'll die." Shou grunted and moved to another grass blade. He extended his hand again and moved it back and forth, and the grass moved with him. "Water is life," he said. "Everythin' alive needs it and holds it."

"But," spoke up Zhi, a curious thought unfolding in her head. "If you can bend like that with plants, can you do it with animals too? Or is that water different?"

"Eh? Speak up."

"I said COULD YOU BEND ANIMALS TOO?"

Shou stopped bending the grass for a moment and fixed her with an odd look. "No," he said, after a pause. "No, you can't."

Zhi blinked at the answer, but turned back to the grass. She pulled again, more gently this time, but once again the plant withered at her touch. She tossed the resultant water away with a huff. If she pulled any more gently, it wouldn't bend at all!

"Keep tryin'," said Shou. "If yeh don't get it, we'll go on t' somethin' else."

But it wasn't until after an increasingly frustrated Zhi was surrounded by a patch of dead grass that Shou called it quits and let her practice the Twenty-Four Form instead, which she'd learned quite well over the past couple weeks. Zhi moved back and forth, letting the water flow between her hands and around her. _Breathe in and out. Keep the center of weight low._

As Zhi dipped her body down into the spider-snake pose, she caught her reflection in the murky water. Oh, if only her family could see her now! They probably wouldn't even recognize her, for after days of struggle, Zhi had finally admitted defeat to the swamp mud. There was simply no escaping it. It got ground into clothes, smeared onto skin, dripped into eyes and hair and snuck under nails. The water was full of it and the air smelled of it. No amount of washing could get rid of it. So, Zhi had to learn to live with the stuff, and alter herself accordingly. She had discarded her old clothes in favor of the simple woven swamp-cotton and leaves of the swamp people, which were far less comfortable but easier to clean, and she had cut her long hair to ear-length for ease of management, as was the swamp style. Sometimes, to her surprise, she even caught herself drawling. The swamp, it seemed, was slowly worming its way into her life.

"That's enough fer today, Zhi. I'll see you tomorra'."

Zhi bowed and left, scowling to herself. Why couldn't she get that plantbending move? She knew what Kat would say. The simple fact that Shou was even teaching her plantbending was a sign of her improvement. After all, it wasn't a beginner's technique. Ban would just nod and tell her to keep trying. Yong would advise her to be patient, and say that she was a fortunate girl that waterbending came so naturally. But still, after doing so well at everything else, why was this so difficult? Why did the stupid plants keep dying? No matter how gentle she pulled, they always withered. She threw herself down at the base of a tree, pouting. What was the matter with her?

Zhi sighed and looked around at the bustling base camp. There was always work to be done, whether it was building and repairing the huts and tree-houses or gathering food or weapon smithing or strategizing on how best to strike a blow against the Fire Empire. Zhi couldn't help but feel vaguely guilty for taking the time to sulk against a tree. _Maybe I'll help with dinner,_ Zhi thought, and wandered off to the drying hut. That, at least, was something she could do.

* * *

The longer she lived in the base camp, the more Zhi learned about the Movement. The population living in the swamp was only one small part of the whole, which was spread throughout the Earth Kingdom. People came and went through the base camp, going off to various missions and returning for debriefing and to carry messages.

The Movement's main weakness was communication, and since messenger hawks could be intercepted, they had to use manpower. Often, they had to resort to using the tunnels: claustrophobic, dark, dank cave systems, both natural and bent, spanning a large part of the Earth Kingdom underground. Tunnel duty was widely derided as the least pleasant job the Movement had to offer, and was generally only given to earthbenders.

Jet and Kat had been the leaders of the Movement practically since its conception, coordinating its various parts into a unified front. Zhi would listen to Jet speak in the evenings, leaning in to catch every word. He was a captivating orator, talking about the nobility of their cause, the righteousness of their actions, about how justice was on their side. His voice would drop low as he honored the lives of those who had fallen, and lift up jubilant for every victory. Zhi was enraptured.

From large cities to slave camps, from Ba Sing Se to Kyoshi Island, from old men to young children, the Movement was spreading, and it could not be stopped.

* * *

"I hate boats, did you know that?"

The young man steering the canoe said nothing.

"And I hate water, too. It moves too much, and changes too much. Makes me sick. It's like the stuff can't make up its mind. 'Will I be over here or over there? Will I be solid, or liquid?' So indecisive. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yes, ma'am," said the scout. "Water does change a lot."

"The water's all mixed in with the earth here. It's mud down for a good twenty feet. It makes tunneling impossible. Always floods." The green-clad woman sniffed and adjusted her helmet. "Well, the sooner this is done with the better."

"Well, we're glad yeh came. Jet's been wanting to speak with you for some time now, y'know."

"Well, sorry to keep him waiting, but I've been busy doing work on the rail-road."

The younger boatman gaped at the woman and tried to peer under her helmet. "'Scuse me, ma'am, but, are you really…?"

The woman tilted her head towards the boatman. "Well, there's a new voice. Am I really what?" She grinned, and the young man quailed. "Am I really blind?"

"Uh, sorry, I… I didn't mean anything by it…"

"Of course not. You're just curious." The woman tilted her helmet back, revealing green eyes clouded pale by cataracts. "You bet I am."

"Oh, ah, ah'm s-"

"If you're going to say you're sorry, stop it. I don't need it. Just steer the boat. I want to get back on reasonably dry land. Now."

He was very hasty to comply, and the woman bit back a decidedly undignified squawk as the canoe took off over the water. The rush of the muddy water along the bottom of the boat made her stomach churn, and she held on tightly to the canoe's sides. As soon as the hull bumped against the shoreline, she jumped out with a splash, glad to feel earth under her feet, even if it was just mud. "Hey, Jet! Kat!" she shouted as she waded to shore. "Isn't anyone here to see me?"

There was the pounding of feet as the inhabitants of the base camp rushed off to fetch their leaders, and then Jet's voice called, "Well, spirits take me! If it isn't The Blind Bandit! It is good to see you! I hear you've been busy."

"Oh, you know me, Jet. Busting heads and ripping up rail. The usual." The Blind Bandit clasped arms with Jet and smiled savagely. "The Fire Empire has a new name for me, you know."

"Oh? Grown a little too old for 'The Runaway,' I take it. What is it?"

"They call me the Phantom Badgermole. Funny, innit?"

"Ha! Hilarious. So tell me, how is your operation going? Have you been in touch with The Duke?"

"I have. It was going well for a while, but we're running low on supplies. We've had to cut back on a lot of personnel and send them to work on Kyoshi."

Jet frowned. "Kyoshi doesn't need as many earthbenders as the railroad does, and that's long journey. Did The Duke authorize this?"

"Jet, people were beginning to starve. There wasn't much of a choice."

There was a short, tense silence, but then Jet's shoulders relaxed. "We'll talk about that later, with the others. Now's not the time or place."

The Blind Bandit nodded. "I agree. So how about you, you fox? How have you been doing?"

"I've been well. We've been spending more time on outreach and recruitment lately. It's a risk, but I think it's paying off. As you've noticed, we need more farmers willing to donate to the cause." Jet's voice dropped. "Not to mention, I recently got word from the Northern Air Temple, a miracle in and of itself, the way they're watched, and there's a man there named Teo who says that he's willing to lend his expertise as a mechanic to the Movement."

"The Northern Air Temple? Sounds exciting. You know, I've never been to an Air Temple…"

"Don't worry, Bandit. If we need some heavy-duty help with the Temple's liberation, I know who to send for."

"You better believe it."

Jet laughed, but was suddenly interrupted by Kanu, who was clambering down from a tree on a rope ladder, his ragtag gang of children following close behind. "Hey!" he shouted. "Hey, it's Bandit!"

"Wow!" one of the attendant children cried. "Is it really The Blind Bandit?"

"What, do you tell them about me?" asked the Bandit, a bemused smile playing over her lips. "Am I famous? How flattering."

"Well, they know a little. Kanu! Come here!"

Kanu broke away from the whispering throng and trotted over. "What is it, Dad?"

"Is that really Kanu?" asked the Bandit. "I swear your voice has changed. You might not remember me, but we last met during the move into the swamp."

"Of course I remember you. I tried to sneak up on you from behind."

"Didn't work with me. I may be blind, but the eyes in the back of my head work just fine."

Kanu laughed, and behind him a child whispered to another; "Wow! Kanu's friends with The Blind Bandit!"

The Bandit scratched her ear idly. "So, Kanu, what have you been up to? Giving your mother and father a hard time?"

Kanu beamed. "I've been learning hook-swords from Dad."

"Excellent! Learning to kick butt is always a good use of time."

"Kanu, where's Kat? She'll want to hear what Bandit's been up to."

"I think Mom's working in the drying-hut. Drying stuff."

"You want to go meet her?" Jet asked, and the Bandit nodded. They left together for the drying hut, followed closely by Kanu.

* * *

"I can't do it!" shouted Zhi, and pulled so hard at the water in the mushroom in front of her that it shredded. "Shou keeps telling me to not pull so hard, but I can't! It doesn't make any difference!"

Kat clucked softly and brushed the remnants of the mushroom from Zhi's front. "It's not an easy trick to get, and you're just a beginner. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"You can do it."

"Zhi, I'm much older than you. And besides, all you need to do to dry food is remove its water. There's no need to bend the whole plant." Kat gestured at the fish on her lap, and its skin wrinkled and browned as the water left it.

Zhi frowned. "Fish aren't plants. Fish are animals."

"Hmm? Well, yes, but the basic movements and theory are the same. You take the water out to dry and preserve the food."

"But Shou said you couldn't do it with animals."

"Well, not with a living animal. Not in my experience. I'd trust Shou. He knows what he's doing."

Zhi nodded, though something struck her as odd about the whole thing. Why did it make a difference whether the water was in a plant or an animal? Or a person… Zhi shuddered. Now _that_ was a disturbing thought.

Zhi reached forward and pulled the water out of another mushroom, watching it shrivel. At least this she could do fairly easily, which meant she could be helpful. She liked feeling helpful.

That was when Jet came in, followed closely by Kanu and a woman Zhi hadn't seen before. She was small, shorter even than Zhi, but walked with the heavy, purposeful stride of one many times her size. She wore plain brown clothes and an earthbender's helmet, tilted back to reveal a round face and strange, distant eyes.

Kat broke out into a warm smile. "Bandit! Isn't this a surprise! How have you been?"

"Incredibly busy, Kat. And nice as it is to catch up on pleasantries, there's a reason that you dragged me here, and I'd like to know what it is."

Jet nodded. "Understood. Kanu. Zhi." Zhi started slightly at being addressed. "Could you give us a moment?"

When Zhi and Kanu had left, Jet turned to his wife and friend, face grim. "As I'm sure you both know by now, the Fire Empire has captured Longshot."

Kat sighed, and the Bandit frowned. "That's terrible, but it's old news. Why is this important now?"

"Because, the capture of any high-ranking individual has its attendant questions. What do they do, and what do we do."

"A rescue mission is too risky," remarked the Bandit. "And we don't even know where he might be."

"Exactly. Longshot knows that we don't have the manpower for an assault. Everyone knows that, even the Empire. So what do they do? He's no use as bait, since they know we won't come. But, as an information source, he's very valuable."

"Longshot wouldn't break." Kat bit her lip and shook her head. "I've never met anyone so stoic."

"Doesn't matter. We have to assume the worst, as we haven't in the past. We've assumed that our base camp's location remains unknown, but that's a dangerous assumption. And if you look at the troop movements, it makes sense. A few soldiers relocated here, a few more guards posted there. Not enough to raise alarm, but it forms a pattern."

"The Fire Empire knows we have a presence here. That doesn't mean Longshot…"

"It doesn't even have to mean Longshot! They could just be clever, I don't know. But I think our presence here is compromised."

Kat closed her eyes. "I knew it wouldn't last forever," she admitted. "But it was so nice to have a home for a while…"

The Bandit pulled at her lower lip. "And the Swamp Tribe? Are you going to let them go?"

"We may have to, for now. The survival of the Movement is more important."

"No."

"No?"

"No," repeated Kat, her blue eyes turning icy. "We're not abandoning the Swamp Tribe. They're the last free tribe of my people. I don't care what it takes, Jet. We're protecting them."

"Even if the whole of the Fire Empire comes down on our heads? Be reasonable, Kat! We have a lot, but we don't have an army, yet. We can relocate to Kyoshi. The warriors there are sympathetic to the cause, and-"

"What do you think the Empire will do to the Tribe if we leave them? Send them to Sohar? Or just exterminate the lot of them? These are our allies!"

"I think," said the Bandit slowly. "That you are both right. What message will it send if we leave our allies to the mercy of the Empire? You were just telling me you were working on recruitment, weren't you? 'Join us, and we'll throw you away?' Yeah, that sounds good. On the other hand, it's a tough battle to win. We'd have to call in all units, and quickly."

"We don't have to abandon the Tribe," said Jet. "They can relocate with us."

"Jet, this is their home. They've lived here for centuries. And you know that that the Fire Empire will destroy it as soon as we leave. Jet, we both know that having to lose your home is terrible. And… isn't that what we're fighting for?"

Jet grimaced, said nothing.

"You know," said the Bandit in a conversational tone. "I think that's why you called me here. You knew you were going to lose this argument, and you wanted me at your back when it came down to the fighting."

The look on Jet's face told Kat everything she needed to know. Her back straightened. "I think," she said, "That we should let the Tribe decide. I'll bring it up tonight, and we'll put it to a vote. Leave or stay."

Kat walked out of the hut with her head high, past a sullen Jet... and nearly walked into Zhi and Kanu, who were crouched outside the door. She sent them a stern look. "Don't you kids have anything better to do than eavesdrop?" The two immediately went scurrying.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Kanu turned to Zhi, his eyes wide. "We're not gonna abandon the Swamp," he said, before she could even ask. "We're not. We can't! I mean, we've lived here for eight years! Leaving now would be terrible, and cowardly!" He puffed out his skinny chest. "Real warriors don't back down."

Zhi hadn't lived in the Swamp for long, but she thought of Ban and realized that she already knew what the result of the vote would be. _Go and live, or stay and die_. She gulped. _We're all going to die, aren't we?_

* * *

Orli was asleep when the mail call came in, but his bunkmate was kind enough to fetch Orli's letters along with his own. The same kindness, however, did not extend to letting him finish his nap.

"Hey." Lee poked Orli roughly in the side. "Hey, Orli, up. Mail."

"Hwwaaaah?" Orli replied intelligently.

"Mail. Get up."

Orli groaned and rubbed his eyes, but took the offered scrolls. The first was from their commanding officer. He was, apparently, going to be relocated from the railroad base even further south, to a field station situated deep in the wilderness of the Shoutaku province. Orli's brow furrowed.

Lee raised his eyebrows. "I take it from your expression that it's not a promotion."

"No… I'm just being transferred into the middle of freakin' nowhere, that's all."

"Sucks to be you, man."

Orli snorted. "No shit. And just when I was starting to think this place wasn't so bad."

The second scroll was from Ary, and Orli smiled. However, his grin only lasted until he read the first line, written in a beautiful, flowing (and, in Orli's mind, girly) script, but oddly smudged here and there.

_Dear Orli,_

_There has been a downturn in Uncle's health. We've been spending most of our time with him, which is why I have not written to you for the last couple days. We are doing our utmost best to heal him, but nothing seems to work. I have even tried my bending, but it does little good. It's almost enough to make me wish that I'd taken one of the Tribe home with me… but I can't dwell on that. It makes me feel wretchedly guilty. _

_The healers say that there is something growing inside him that is devouring him, and that they might have to try cutting it out. Just the thought makes me feel ill._

_I don't know what to do. I care so deeply for Uncle, but my greater concern is actually for Father. He is just beside himself, and Mother spends most of her time comforting him, as he spends most of his time comforting Uncle. Hotaru has been called back again, though we only just saw her on Ember Island. I think even Devdan might come._

_I feel that I can write honestly to you, Orli, but please realize that I do so in confidence. What I say is no secret to those in court, but it is best not to spread rumors amongst the common soldiers. Father has been so dependent on Uncle for his advice in running the Empire, having acceded to the throne so unexpectedly, and though I do not doubt his capabilities, I do wonder at those who may seek to usurp Uncle's position. Again, Orli, I say this in strictest confidence. I do not trust the other members of the council._

_These thoughts are a heavy burden, my friend. Please, pray to Agni for us? I do not know of any other to turn to._

_I hope this letter finds you in better straits than I._

_Your Friend,_

_-Ary_

Orli put the letter down, a dazed look on his face. Iroh had always been such a presence at Azar, and whenever he had visited the palace as a child the old man had been there, making time for a tea break with Orli and Ary even though his schedule was undoubtedly packed. He let out a low sigh.

"More bad news?" asked Lee, who was eying the scroll's royal seal.

"It's nothing," said Orli quickly, rolling up the scroll with a flick of his wrist. "Everything's fine."

* * *

The Dragon of the West was dying.

The healers had given up. It was, at that point, only a matter of easing his path to the Spirit World, where, according to the ancient writings, he would join with the spirits of the ancestors in the eternal flame of life.

_Such a pretty story_, thought Zuko, as he held Iroh's ice-cold hand in his own. _Becoming one with Agni. I wonder if there is any truth to it?_

Zuko stroked Iroh's forehead, and he mumbled something in his sleep. "Uncle?" whispered Zuko. "Uncle, I'm here." Iroh didn't respond, but his eyelids fluttered slightly.

Zuko's vision became watery, and he felt the hot tears slide down his cheek. "Oh, Uncle…"

"Father."

Zuko looked up to see Yuri, ashen-faced, leading in Hana and Mei, who was sniffling quietly. Zuko moved over, letting his daughters take a seat at his side. Ary was hunched over in a corner, his head in his hands, and Hyun was seated across from Zuko, holding Iroh's other hand. Sakura stood the foot of the bed, her face bowed and her eyes closed.

"Please don't die, Uncle," said Mei, her voice nearly inaudible. "Please."

"Mei, my love," Hyun reached over to cup her daughter's cheek in her hand. "Sometimes there are things that we cannot change in this world, and death is one of them. But Uncle Iroh has lived a long life, and he still has us here, even now, to comfort him. Here, would you like to hold his hand?"

Mei sniffed and nodded, and Hyun let Mei hold Iroh's big, callused hand in her smooth, pale, tiny one. She looked up at her father, whose tears were flowing freely now, and her eyes went wide. Seeing her father cry was terrifying.

"Oh, Uncle…" he was whispering. "Oh, Uncle, please, don't go, I need you here..." He leaned in close to Iroh so that his family wouldn't hear. "Father… true father of my heart… please…"

Iroh made a murmuring sound, his lips fluttering open.

"Lu… Lu Ten?"

Zuko started back at the sound, and his eye widened. "Uncle? Uncle Iroh, are you awake?"

Iroh said nothing, but his eyelids twitched.

"Uncle, it's me, Zuko. I… I don't know if you can hear me, but, the whole family's here, me and Hyun and Sakura and the girls… Hotaru's coming, she said she's coming… we all love you, Uncle. We all love…" His voice broke, and put his hand to his face.

Iroh let out a long sigh, and his head reclined slightly.

Zuko was beyond words, and the sounds of muffled grief drifted up from the bedside, but it wasn't until Hyun placed her hand on the old man's cheek and felt its stillness that they realized what had happened.

* * *

Not all that far away in the boy's barracks on the Island of Lingyu, a child was crying with grief of another sort.

"I want my mama," Imik sobbed into his older brother's nightclothes. "I wanna go home! I wanna go _home._"

"Shhhhh," said Malruk. "Shhhhh. It's okay, Imik. We'll get home. I bet Mom and Dad are figuring a way to get us out, right now."

Imik wiped the snot and tears from his face with one hand. "R-really?"

"Really. And uncle Yakone will be so happy to see us, he'll give you a yak-back ride and sugar cane." Malruk knew he had to quiet his brother, or no one would be able to get any sleep, and they would fall asleep in class the next day and get punished. And if he had to lie a little to do it, then so be it.

Imik sniffled, but seemed to grow calmer. He lay down and curled into his futon, gazing around at the big dark room. "I miss mama's lullabyes. Will you sing to me, Malruk?"

"Come on, Imik. Don't be a baby."

Imik sniffled. "Please?"

Mulruk sighed, and looked around apologetically at the other boys, who were curled up with their heads under their pillows in an effort to escape the sound of Imik's crying.Malruk was no great singer, but he knew the song, and started, in the warbling clear voice of a child:

_Hush thee, my brother, the night is behind us,_

_And black are the waters that sparkled so green._

_The moon, o'er the combers, looks downward to find us_

_At rest in the hollows that rustle between._

_Where billow meets billow, there soft be thy pillow;_

_Ah, weary wee water child, curl at thy ease;_

_The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee,_

_Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas._

And though the moon shone brightly overhead, its light did not reach onto the faces of the sleeping children of the Water Tribe.


	7. Thunderhead

Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon. Many of the characters and concepts here belong to Hotspur, and are borrowed with permission.

A/N: The prayer is completely made up, but the thing with the chopsticks is an actual Japanese tradition.

This story is based off of the AU built up by Hotspur in her epic fanfiction, "Downfall." If you are confused, go read it; it's awesome!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Thunderhead**

The funeral was by far one of the grandest performed in living memory. A week of mourning had been called for the capital city, an honor usually reserved for the death of a Fire Lord, and the greater part of the population of Azar was gathered in front of the palace, making a sea of mournful white surrounding the red buildings. Zuko thought that the black heads of hair moving against the white background looked vaguely like ants crawling on white sand.

The royal family, including Hotaru and a fidgety Zhan, knelt next to the altar while the Fire Sage intoned the funerary prayers, the ancient words echoing out across the plaza:

_Oh great Agni, Lord of all you see, sovereign light unto the world, we are but dust before you, shadows to your light, sparks to your flame, bubbles of foam on your shore. You give knowledge to the ignorant and strength to the fallen. You are the eternal judge, for you see all and know all. Oh Agni, be gentle in your judgment, for today we mourn the passing of Iroh, son of Azulon and Ila, husband of Ikou, now passed, father of Lu Ten, now passed. As we free his spirit from the confines of his body, welcome him into your paradise of everlasting light, and shine with favor upon those who remember him, for he was a true child of Fire and a testament to your name. Aum._

Zuko raised his eyes up just in time to see the funeral pyre go up in flames, the thick smoke rising high into the air. It was a pretty prayer, he supposed, but so… empty. It didn't have anything to do with Iroh, not as Zuko had known him. It had nothing to do with the man who had left his nation behind to go with his ungrateful nephew on a hopeless quest, nothing of the man who had, time and time again, calmed him down from a towering rage, who would pull him out of the pits of despair, who had guided him through the ruling of an Empire with a gentle hand, who had read stories to his children, who was loved by so, so many, just for himself.

He heard Yuri sobbing off to his side, and wished desperately to comfort her, but he had to maintain his solemnity. They knelt there for a long time, the hot sun beating on their necks, until the flames finally died down and the last of the smoke dissipated into the atmosphere. The crowds began to disperse, leaving the royal family alone with the Fire Sage and the funerary assistants.

Feeling like his heart was made of lead, Zuko rose to his feet and took the proffered chopsticks from the Sage. He heard Hotaru and Hyun rise behind him as he made his way to the altar, now full of nothing but ashes and charred pieces of bone. This is Iroh, he thought, looking in at the remains. But where is he?

Face pale and grave, Zuko carefully took the one of the bone shards in his chopsticks and placed them into the urn, a beautiful red enamel piece with golden dragons twining about it. Zuko had selected it himself, and thought that his uncle would have appreciated the fine handiwork. The three royals worked quietly, lifting together to move the bigger pieces into the urn, moving from the tiny bones of the feet to the skull. These are the arms that held my children. Zuko thought, a strange cold numbness settling in his limbs. This is the jaw that formed words and spoke wisdom every day. He felt as though he just might break, but held strong until they finished, then left with Hyun to retire to his room for the week of mourning.

He would consent to see no one else, not even the servants, and passed the rest of the day in silence.

* * *

The countryside rushed by in a blur outside Orli's window. It was a dreary, murky, soggy landscape, savage and worthless. What could possibly be important enough to relocate him out here? The young man sighed. At least they were taking a tank-train instead of going rhinoback. Be thankful for Agni's small blessings.

Orli looked at the other man in the cabin. He was a mechanic, by his uniform, and was fast asleep, head resting on a small bag of personal possessions. How he could sleep, with the constant roar of the engine and the jostling up and down over the rough terrain, Orli had no idea. And it was only getting worse as they continued, as the trees became thicker and larger and less capable of being simply knocked over in the tank-train's path. This place could really use a railroad, thought Orli, as the tank-train gave another lurch. Rail trains were faster, more efficient, and, best of all, far more comfortable than these old tank trains. Honestly, this technology was new when he was a little kid! It was like the southwestern Earth Protectorate was caught in the past, refusing to progress. Well, that would change soon.

The floor of the cabin heaved so abruptly that Orli was practically thrown from his seat, and the mechanic across from him woke up with a start. Orli groaned. So far as he was concerned, progress couldn't come soon enough.

"Are we almost there?" Orli looked up at the mechanic. He was a portly fellow, with watery grey eyes and a small topknot.

"I think so," Orli answered. "I mean, it looks like a swamp out there to me."

The mechanic nodded. "Yes, yes, very good. It's exciting isn't it? Working out here on the frontier?"

"I don't know," Orli replied. "This is my first time this far away from civilization."

"Oh! Me too!" The mechanic nodded furiously. "But I've heard many stories… there's so much work to be done! Why, just imagine the land that could be freed up if the swamp could be drained. To think, I could be part of founding an entirely new city! With the help of soldiers for protection, of course." The man inclined his head to Orli.

Orli frowned. Was that why he was being transferred? To serve as a bodyguard for a bunch of engineers? He groaned inwardly. What ever happened to the glory of being a soldier?

The sudden screech of the breaks filled the air as several tons of iron and steel tried to stop their momentum. This time Orli really was thrown from his seat and practically into the mechanic's lap, who straightened and looked about excitedly. "I think we're here!"

Orli got to his feet and peered out the window. A few red-clad people were milling about outside, opening the cabin doors to let out the higher-ranking officers. There was a rap on Orli's cabin's door. "All soldiers move out!" called the Lieutenant. "We've arrived at Fort Sawa!"

Orli left the foolishly smiling mechanic in the cabin and went to the exit, glad to be getting some fresh air. Unfortunately, the first thing he breathed in was the faint, nauseating scent of sulfur, like the belch of a hippocow. He wrinkled his nose and stepped down off the ramp, mud squelching underneath his boots.

After being lined up and counted alongside the other soldiers, Orli was shown to the barracks, low wooden buildings built practically into the side of a low hill. We're living like dirtbenders, Orli thought with disgust as he tried and failed to wipe off the mud gathering on his boots. Wooden buildings! This really is the middle of nowhere.

He watched as the crew of mechanics started refueling the tank-trains for their departure, and swatted at the cloud of insects quickly gathering around his head. Damn swamp. He was tired of it already.

* * *

"Oh, Geb! Oh Geb! Oh Geb! Oh Geeeeeeeeeeb!"

"Go, Zhi! Straighten your legs! Stand up! Stand up!"

Kanu yelled encouragement from the bank as Zhi struggled to control her skis, her rear end dragging along the surface of the water as she maintained a death grip on the rope tow that connected her to the speeding boat.

"Stand up, Zhi!"

"What's goin' on?" Idlu scrambled up the bank and looked out as Zhi managed to rise up a few inches, then drop down again. "Is Zhi swamp-skiin'?"

Kanu grinned. "Zhi's swamp-skiin'."

Zhi struggled to pull herself upright, but every time she tried to straighten her legs it seemed as though her skis hit another bump in the water, sending her right back down on her bottom. Her rear was getting rubbed raw, and she was sure that she was going to fall any minute.

"Oh Geb! Aaaaaaaaaaagh!"

The boat turned sharply, and Zhi lost her hold on the rope tow, skimming across the water before wiping out with an impressive splash.

"Oooooh!" cried the two watching brothers, slapping their thighs. "Ouch!"

Zhi resurfaced a moment later, gasping and sputtering. Kanu and Idlu laughed and cheered, clapping their hands while the boat turned around to pick her up.

"You alright?" asked the boat's guide, a woman named Cha, as she reached out her hand to Zhi.

"I'm fine," said Zhi, and lifted her arms. The water underneath her rose, and deposited her gently in the boat. "But I don't think I like swamp-skiing."

Cha smiled. "Yeh got ta' stand up."

"Ugh, I know." Zhi looked over her shoulder at Kanu on the shore. "Why don't we let the boys have a turn? I'll even steer the boat."

Cha raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Thought you wanted ta' learn ta' ski."

"It was a temporary insanity. Won't happen again." Zhi shook her head. "Really. I think I'm done."

Cha steered the small watercraft into shore, and Zhi hopped out. "Zhi!" cried Kanu. "You looked great out there!"

"Oh, ha ha," replied Zhi sarcastically. "I can't believe you talked me into that."

Idlu giggled, and Zhi glared. "I'm done playing around. I should be practicing, anyway."

"All you do is practice. Taking breaks in good for you." Kanu nodded sagely. "I've been working hard too, you know. But I always feel better after a bit of skiing."

"Yeah, I can see the appeal."

"Aw, give it a chance." Kanu shrugged lazily at Zhi's scowl and turned to Cha. "Can I have a turn?"

"Put on the skis and we'll go."

Zhi sighed and watched as Kanu happily strapped the wooden skis to his feet. Even she had to admit that having more free time could be nice, although the reason for it wasn't. Shou was simply too busy these days to spend much time with her, instead spending his time training the more advanced waterbenders. Watching them took Zhi's breath away, as they moved masses of water the size of Appa, shattering them into ice spears before bringing the trees themselves to bear, branches and vines whirling with enough force to crush metal armor. Jet and Kat had retreated into the planning hut, and everyone was busy with fortifications and scouting. Although no enemy had yet materialized, the swamp was readying itself for war.

While this was going on, most of the swamp dweller's children had been left to their own devices, a group that now included a rather put-off Zhi. She knew she was still too inexperienced to help much, but she felt fidgety, like she always did when she wasn't sure about how to schedule her time. She wanted to do something.

Zhi said goodbye to Idlu and wandered back to the camp, thinking maybe she'd see if anyone needed some small task accomplished. She stepped carefully over a snoozing catfish-gator and frowned. What was going on? Everyone in the camp was clumped together around the meeting-fire, though no council had been called. Zhi pushed her way into the unwashed throng, hearing a voice issuing out from the middle.

"There's six big trains," said a man, probably a scout by his camouflaged clothing. "Maybe holdin' three platoons in each of 'em. An' some rhinos an' such."

"That's not very many," noted Jet, chewing a piece of straw thoughtfully. "They can't mean to take the swamp with only what, two hundred men? Or do they want us to think that?"

"Firebenders can't tunnel," added the Bandit, staring vaguely at nothing. "Anyone they bring, we'll know." She paused. "Want me to take 'em?"

"They're guessing that this is our base," said Jet. "If we attack now, they'll know they're right, and they'll send more soldiers. Let's wait, see what they've got. Keep tabs on them." Jet looked at the scout. "Understood?"

"Yessir."

Jet turned to face the rest of the camp. "Everyone else, this is just confirmation on what we've been saying. We don't know what the Empire is planning, so we need to redouble our efforts to prepare for anything they can throw at us. That means siege, subterfuge, frontal assault, attacks with machines or rhinos. If the Geb-damned Emperor himself comes to our door, we'll be ready."

There was a murmur of assent through the gathering, and the crowd began to disperse back to their duties. But Zhi pushed forward, trying to get to Kat. "What's going on?" she asked, as soon as the woman came into view.

Kat looked up, her face showing first surprise and then relief. "Zhi! Where are Kanu and Idlu?"

"They're swamp-skiing. But what's going on?"

Kat frowned. "A group of Fire Empire tank-trains was spotted at the edge of the swamp. We don't know why, but we'll find out. One way or another." She chewed her lip thoughtfully. "You should stay close to the camp. We don't want you to get hurt."

Zhi nodded, anxiety beginning to gnaw at her. The Fire Empire was here? She recalled the conversation she'd overheard (well, eavesdropped on) several days earlier. The vote to stay in the face of any threat had been nearly unanimous, the stubbornness of the Earth Kingdom combining with the loyalty of the Water Tribe to make sure that the base camp would stay in the swamp. Jet hadn't been happy, but the Movement wasn't a monarchy, and he couldn't overthrow a decision made by everyone else.

_What will it be like_, Zhi wondered, _when the Fire Empire actually attacks? Will I be able to fight? That's what I've been training for, right? _She felt a quiver of fear shoot up her spine. _What if they burn me? What if I'm captured? What if I die? _Her heart began to pound at the thought. _I don't want to die! _A thought occurred to her to just run away, or hide, but she quashed the idea as cowardly.

_Can I be brave enough?_ Zhi looked around at the base camp, now invigorated by the encroaching threat_. Kat, Jet, Ban, Yong, the Bandit... They're all experienced warriors. Even Kanu is better prepared than me. Everyone else is so strong and powerful, and I'm such a nothing. What can I do? I suppose I can heal, and waterbend a little, but what good is that, really? Is there a place for me, in all this?_

Zhi closed her eyes and groaned. Whatever happened, she would see if she was brave when the time came.

* * *

Over the next few weeks the tension only grew, as nearly every day a new fleet of tank-trains pulled into the swamp, spraying mud to the side and leaving great furrows in the ground in their wake. They brought supplies and men, although according to the scouts more of the men were engineers than trained soldiers. They were building constantly, hacking down trees only to put up giant structures of metal. They worked day and night, and the woods echoed with the sound of welding steel.

However, though they might have been trying to build a fort, the Fire Empire's forces did not have an easy time of it. No sooner would a building go up as it would sink into the mud. Their food spoiled quickly in the humidity, and the filthy water made the soldiers sick, tasting foul even after being boiled. One day, a group of four soldiers got leave to go hunting for fresh meat in the swamp, but only three returned, gibbering about moving trees and swamp monsters.

The fourth soldier looked up at Jet from his position on the ground. He was trapped in mud up to his shoulders, and a vine was wrapped around his head, acting as a gag. His wide, terrified eyes flicked from Jet's boots to his face to the lady waterbender who had attacked him with half the forest to the blind earthbender who had trapped him.

Jet smiled. "Well, you're in a bit of a predicament now, aren't you?"

"Mmph!" The soldier nodded his head up and down.

"That was a rhetorical question, you know. But I appreciate your cooperation."

In a single fluid movement, Jet drew a hook-sword and slashed off the vine covering the soldier's mouth. The soldier jerked his head back with a muffled cry, and as soon as the vine dropped began to gulp hungrily at the air.

"Isn't that better?"

"P-please. Please, I haven't done anything… I'm just following orders… I don't know anything!"

Jet's eyebrows furrowed. "You haven't done anything? Really? You've never taken advantage of the Earth Kingdom, never acted like you owned what was not rightfully yours, never oppressed the people of the other Nations, never lent your support to the Fire Empire's leaders? Not in the least? Somehow, I doubt it."

"Please, sir…"

"But that is neither here nor there. I just have a couple questions, and all this can be over."

"I… I swear by Agni, I don't know anything!"

"Just hear me out. First, why are you here?"

"I swear I don't know! They just sent us here, I don't know, it's just a swamp, I don't know!"

Jet frowned. "Why have you brought so many engineers? What are they working on?"

"I don't know!"

"Be honest, now. What do you know about the Swamp Tribe?"

"They… they're… I don't know! I'm just a soldier, they don't tell us anything!"

"I see." Jet chewed his straw for a long moment, staring off into space. "Well, if that's all you have to say, then I suppose this interview is over."

Jet nodded at the Bandit, and without even a yelp the soldier disappeared into the earth. Jet stood stock-still and counted to twenty. He nodded again. The soldier resurfaced, utterly coated in mud and gasping pathetically. Jet dropped to one knee and grabbed the soldier's slippery jaw with one hand, his casual manner sliding off like a worn cloak.

"Listen," he hissed. "I know you're probably suffering from the delusion of honor, that by hiding information from me you're somehow doing yourself a favor, even if you have to die for it. But let me tell you, you're not doing anyone any favors. If you die, you're not going to the sun. You're staying here, in the mud. So think, think carefully, and tell me why you're here."

"Please…" the soldier croaked, spitting mud out from between his teeth. "Please… I don't know…"

"Think some more."

The soldier again disappeared into the mud, and Jet counted to twenty-five before he resurfaced.

"Gah! Uh! Huh! Please… oh Agni…"

"Talk."

"M-maybe… maybe we're going to drain the swamp? For passage up the Aphar?"

Jet's eyes were steely as he stared directly into the soldiers' own. "Did you know that we were here?"

"I… knew that there was a tribe of primitives living in the swamp, I didn't know that the rebels were…"

"Your leaders never told you that you were here to get rid of us?" Jet sounded incredulous.

"No."

"He's telling the truth." Jet looked up at the Bandit, whose toes were buried into the ground. "It's hard to tell in the mud, but I'm pretty sure he's not lying."

Jet nodded and smiled. "Alright then. Thank you, soldier." He straightened up, and the Bandit made a pressing motion with her hand. Once again, the soldier disappeared into the mud. This time, Jet didn't bother to count.

Jet saw the look on Kat's face, and smiled gently. "Hey, Kat," he said, his face softening. "Don't feel bad. It's not as though we could let him go back, knowing we were here. Besides, you know only good redbelly is a dead redbelly. They don't deserve our pity."

Kat nodded slightly. "You're right. They don't."

The three of them swiftly made their way back to the base camp.

* * *

Preparations in the base camp reached a fever pitch. Walls of woven of living wood and fortified by earth went up around the huts, and Appa was tied down so as not to give their position away. There was a mounting feeling of panic, and arguments sprang up on whether to attack directly and give away their position or to continue spying. But as it became more and more clear that the Fire Empire planned on establishing a permanent presence in the swamp, the argument to nip them in the bud gained more and more support.

They discussion had already shifted to how their attack should be orchestrated when the balloons appeared on the horizon.

* * *

"I hope you know what you're doing, because I sure don't."

The mechanic looked up at Orli, a smug look on his face. "Of course I know what I'm doing. I helped build this thing. Don't worry. Your job is simple. You light and drop the bombs while I fly the balloon. Easy peasy."

Orli looked at the second-generation war-balloon doubtfully. "Are you sure? The balloon doesn't look big enough to hold us up."

"That's what the airfoils and propellers are for. They make the balloons faster and more maneuverable, and more efficient to boot, since the hot air does less work. Who knows? Some day we may be able to get rid of the hot air part entirely. You see, the airfoils are curved, so they increase lift by moving the air pressure perpendicular to their plane. And they're asymmetric, so they work at zero angle of attack."

"Okay, you lost me."

"And that's why I'm the engineer, and you're the soldier."

Orli bristled at the mechanic's condescending tone, but knew enough to bite back his grumbling. After all, he would be stuck with this guy until the mission was over with, so he might as well attempt to get along.

Orli and the mechanic boarded the balloon. The young soldier couldn't help but feel a thrill of pride as he looked around at the fleet of war-balloons lining the cleared area in front of Fort Sawa. They were a beautiful sight, graceful airfoils based on the concept of a glider uniting with hot-air technology to make a flying machine far superior to the old, slow balloons and zeppelins. The mechanic pulled a lever, and the propellers roared to life, the wind they created rushing over the two passengers. Orli opened the engine hatch and added his firebending to the coal, setting it ablaze.

The fire burned, and the balloon lifted into the air. Orli went to the side and looked over, watching the ground drop away. The people on the ground soon looked like toy soldiers, the trees like weeds, the buildings like little shining boxes. Wow, he thought, unable to put words to the feelings going through his head. Wow.

"Drop one!" shouted the mechanic, bringing Orli out of his reverie.

All around, the other balloons were floating into formation. They would spread out over the swamp in a fan pattern, dropping firebombs all the way. That was the trick. The swamp was too thick and wet to clear in the normal way, piece by piece from the ground, so they would do it all at once, from the air.

Orli knelt down and pressed his fingers to the first wick, lighting it instantly, and cut the line with a small knife. He watched as the bomb fell, growing smaller and smaller before impacting a tree in a giant fireball. Orli whooped. It worked! _Ha ha! Take that, swamp!_

All around, the other balloons dropped their fiery cargo, and Orli could hear the sound of the concussive blasts all around him. He smiled, and turned his face into the wind. This was so much better than guarding the fort down in the mud! It just felt _good_ to be up in the sky, making progress, doing the good work and enjoying himself to boot. He felt… content. Like there was no other place in the world he'd rather be. Except maybe at home, with his Azia. But hey, you can't have it all, right?

That was when he saw the flying bison.

* * *

Zhi's world shattered, breaking into pieces of sensory perception, disconnected.

The smell of smoke. Footsteps running. Shouting. The fires in the treetops, casting flickering light down into the dim swamp below. Zhi's mouth went dry. It was too much, too soon! She wasn't ready!

There were the balloons. They didn't seem to be targeting the base camp, but instead just dropped bombs randomly, all over the swamp.

There was Jet, drawing his hook swords and shouting orders to topple the burning trees before they could spread their fire to the rest of the forest. "They don't know where we are," Jet muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. "They don't know, so they're burning it all… those bastards, they're burning it all…"

There were archers, climbing into the treetops and cocking their bows at the nearest balloon, letting loose with hissing barbs. The balloon did not expect the attack, and went down in a long glide, its weird winglike projections allowing it to stay in the air for a time even without the hot air, before crashing into a tree.

There was Kanu, begging Kat on his knees. "Mom, please!" he pleaded. "Please, can't I fight? I can help, really…"

"No!" cried Kat, a look of fury on her face. "No, you may not! You are going underground until this is over. Do you understand me?"

"But Mom, I'm old enough!"

"No, you're not!"

"I'm as old as Aang was when you were…"

"And look at what happened to him!" Kat's voice hitched, and she drew her son into a smothering hug. "Kanu, I can't lose you. Please, go underground with the children. Please. For your mother."

Kanu's shoulders slumped, and he nodded.

In the next moment, Appa was cut loose, and Kat leapt aboard his broad back, throwing a water skin over her shoulder as she went. The bison took to the air with a roar, and Kat whirled the water about her, sharpening it into an ice blade before charging into the sky.

"Zhi!" It was Yong, his face dark with soot. "Zhi, help us put out the fires!"

There was little that those on the ground could do to contain the blaze as it burned high in the branches, leaping from one connected crown to another. The very strength of the swamp was working against it. But still, they tried. Teams of waterbenders pulled down at the water in the trees until they fell, destroying a part of their home in an effort to save the whole, before they and the earthbenders did what they could to smother the licking flames. It was chaos, with flaming branches cracking and falling down from the canopy above, threatening to crush the fragile bodies of the people below as they splashed through the mud from one tree to the next, and giant bodies of water mixed with earth flying in every direction.

"Clear!" cried the voice of the Blind Bandit, and the benders scattered from the base of a flaming tree. There was a rumble in the ground, and then it simply opened up, swallowing the tree and fire together like a circus performer would swallow a flaming sword.

Zhi rushed from tree to tree, unsure of what to do, throwing water onto the blaze when she could, watching helplessly as the fires spread. There were simply too many bombs being dropped, and not nearly enough people to put them out.

Then, Zhi's soul screamed.

There was no other way to describe it. It was such a shocking, all-encompassing feeling, not quite pain but like pins and needles, like her entire body had been drained of blood at once. Her body seized up and she fell to her knees, trembling, a rushing sound in her ears. And, as her hand came into contact with the earth, she knew, she _knew_, with greater clarity and greater certainty than she had ever known anything, that the Great Banyan was on fire.

"Help…" she gasped, her eyes wide. "Help…" But no one heard. Everyone was too preoccupied with the fire to see that the heart of the swamp was dying.

Zhi felt the scream again, a pulse moving from the top of her head downward through her entire body. Then Zhi was on her feet again, running, running, slipping in the mud, following the same trail she had run weeks earlier, moving unerringly towards the center of the swamp.

Then she was standing at the base of the Banyan, craning her neck up and trying to see the fire in its crown. No… no! They couldn't lose the Great Banyan! Her whole body ringing with the inaudible cries of the wounded tree, Zhi began to race around its base, searching for the vine that she had climbed not long ago.

A shadow flickered across her path, and Zhi looked up to see a great branch, easily the size of one of the swamp's normal trees, falling ablaze down towards her. She screamed and pressed her body into the trunk of the tree, certain that it was going to crush her.

There was a terrible crash, and then heat and smoke was everywhere, burning her eyes, her nose. She was trapped in a burning cage against the trunk of the Banyan, the stems of the fallen branch forming its bars. "Help!" she screamed, choking and coughing on the smoke. "HELP ME SOMEBODY!"

_I'm going to die. Oh, Geb, this is it. I'm going to die._ The flames (_Oh, Geb, they're so close!_) licked at her skin, leaving burning pain in their wake. She wailed.

Zhi began to feel lightheaded, her chest hurt from coughing, her skin was blistering, blackness was encroaching on her vision. She felt as though she was falling inwards, floating through space. She was collapsing in on herself, towards a center of heat and light so intense she couldn't bear it. _Am I dying?_ some small part of her wondered. _Is this what it is to die? The_ center drew closer, more powerful, burning away everything. Then it exploded outward, filling every fiber of her being with unendurable energy. And Zhi was gone.


	8. The Avatar Returns

Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon. Many of the characters and concepts here belong to Hotspur, and are borrowed with permission.

**This story is based off of the AU built up by Hotspur in her epic fanfiction, "Downfall." If you are confused, go read it; it's awesome!**

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Avatar Returns**

Orli gawked in disbelief. What in the name of Agni was _that_? It looked like a… flying… buffalo…

"It's coming for us!" cried the mechanic. "Hold on!"

The mechanic pulled a lever, and the war-balloon listed to the left to avoid the flying buffalo's charge. Orli was thrown to the side, and for a terrifying moment thought that he might fall out of the cockpit. Then the balloon steadied, and Orli got back to his feet, looking around to try and get a sighting on the buffalo. But the animal was far more agile than the balloon, and twisted around in mid air as gracefully as a fish in water.

Realizing that they couldn't avoid the attacking animal, Orli took a deep breath and fired as much flame at it as he could. But something blocked his fire, and when the steam cleared… was there someone _riding_ it?

Orli sent another gout of flame at the figure riding the buffalo, but the creature pitched to the side and avoided it. It flew under the balloon, almost as if taunting their lack of maneuverability, and Orli got a long look at the person on its back. It was a woman, holding aloft a ring of water as she rode. A waterbender?

"Don't just stand there!" cried the mechanic. "Get them!"

Orli bit back his indignation and ran to the other side of the cockpit to fire on the buffalo and its rider, but before he could let out his flame the waterbender swung her arms, and the water sliced through the fabric of the balloon like a knife.

"Oh shit," whispered Orli.

"What's wrong?" yelled the mechanic. "What happened?"

"We've been cut!"

Orli's stomach dropped as the balloon began to lose altitude, the airfoils only able to do so much as they plummeted into the canopy.

"Emergency landing!" screamed the mechanic over the rush of wind. "I'm going to try to…"

The tree seemed to sprout up in front of them, and they collided with a crash. Orli screamed and fell forward, impacting the front wall of the balloon's cockpit. He lay there for a long time, winded, then sat up, wincing. He felt his ribs carefully. They didn't seem to be broken, but he couldn't be sure. They hurt like all buggery, though.

Orli got slowly to his feet and looked around. The balloon's cockpit was stuck in the branches of one of the trees, with the balloon itself draped overhead like a tent. The mechanic was nowhere to be seen. "Hey," called Orli and took a step forward, trying to ignore the pain in his sides. "Hey, are you…"

The cockpit suddenly tilted to the side, and Orli took a hurried step backwards. The cockpit shifted back, and Orli let out a sigh of relief. He peered over the side of the cockpit, and saw that it was perched precariously on a large branch, far above the ground. With a sickening feeling in his stomach, Orli leaned out further, and saw what might have been a man-shaped object lying sprawled out on the ground far below. _Oh Agni…_

Slowly, Orli stepped out of the cockpit onto the branch, and looked around for a way down. Unfortunately, the branches stopped still a long ways above the ground, so it looked like climbing down wasn't an option. His heart still sinking at the thought of the mechanic, Orli climbed up through the branches, thinking that one of the other balloons might find him if he made himself more visible. But when he got to the top of the canopy, he could see the buffalo-creature dodging fireblasts from another balloon. The balloon suddenly began to go down, and Orli swore. But before it impacted with the canopy below, the firebender in it had the presence of mind to turn around and fire one more blast at the retreating back of the buffalo. This time, it seemed to make contact, and the beast went down into the treetops. Orli smiled grimly. Whatever that thing was, he was glad that it was gone. But where did it come from? Would there be more of them?

Orli looked around. From where he was, he could see the crowns of trees in every direction, columns of smoke rising up here and there. The thought suddenly struck him that he might be burned alive by the fleet's fires, before he was ever seen. He could see other balloons in the distance, but none were close enough to see or hear him. But what took up most of his vision was a giant tree, towering above the others like a normal tree towered above weeds. Its crown was on fire, but the light that was coming from it didn't seem to be just from the blaze…

Orli blinked. Did the tree just move? No, he must be imagining things…

A shudder suddenly passed underneath him, like an earthquake through the branches of the tree. There was a cracking sound, like thunder. Orli looked up, a feeling of dread building inside him. He wasn't imagining things.

It was incredible, impossible, but the giant tree was moving, shifting, making a tremendous cracking sound with every movement. It swayed from one side to the other, then suddenly uprooted itself, sending another shudder through the entire forest. Then it… stood up…

Orli could only watch in amazement and horror as the enormous tree (was it a tree? Trees can't walk! Trees can't move!) began to _walk_ through the sea of its burning brethren. It was a terrifying sight, vaguely humanoid, made of gnarled wood and still on fire, like some vengeful spirit from a children's story. Everything about it was impossible, its size, its speed, the way it reached out with an impossibly long branch and knocked a balloon out of the sky like one would bat at flies. The other balloons started to rise, but they were too slow, far too slow. The tree simply reached out and grabbed them with its branches and tossed them away as if they were toys.

But even as Orli watched the Great Banyan make short work of the balloon fleet, he was too far away to see the shining ball of light it carried, or the tiny figure within, its eyes glowing with unearthly light.

* * *

_Zhi stood on an immense plain of dust._

_She looked to either side, and shook her head. This had once been a fertile floodplain, but now…_

_A huge volcano had erupted, and buried everything in ash. She was far away at the time, and hadn't been able to stop it. Hundreds of people and untold numbers of animals had lost their lives._

_Zhi held in her hands a small tree, its roots bound tightly in canvas. She stepped forward and, with an easy motion, lifted the dirt away, making a hole. She placed the tree inside and cut it free from the canvas, working with strong, callused hands that were not her own. She gently pushed the dirt back in, and packed it carefully around the roots. She uncorked the cap of her canteen, and bent the water to the tree, letting it seep gently into the ground._

"_Geb," she said, in a deep voice, a man's voice. "Bless this banyan with your might. Give it strength so that it may live and revive this tortured land, and let it grow to mark a place of healing and rebirth. Aum."_

_It was a very small prayer, and a very small healing, but it was a start._

"Hello Zhi."

Zhi turned around at the sound of the voice, feeling as though she was waking up from a dream. Before her stood a boy in a yellow tunic. He was a few years younger than her, bald and with an arrow painted on his brow. She recognized him immediately.

"You're the boy from the swamp!"

He smiled. "Yup, I am! And?"

"And…" Zhi gulped. "You're Aang. Avatar Aang."

"Just Aang is fine."

Zhi looked around her at the empty plain. Suddenly, she wasn't sure what she was doing anymore. "Aang, what's going on? Where am I? Am I… am I dead?"

The boy shook his head. "No, you're alive. You're in the Avatar State."

"_Avatar State_?"

"Yeah. It's a defense mechanism that comes up when you're in danger. You'll come out of it soon."

"But how…" Zhi boggled. The Avatar State? But that meant…

"No," said Zhi, and shook her head. "No, it's not me. There's some mistake."

"There's no mistake." Aang smiled sadly. "You're the Avatar."

"But I _can't_ be! The Avatar is some mystical hero. I'm just… Zhi. I mean, I'm not even a very good waterbender. I can't be the Avatar."

"You know, I thought the same thing, when the monks told me. But it's true." Aang sighed. "I really should apologize to you. I left you with a big mess to clean up."

Zhi stared. This was a dream. It had to be. There was no way she was the Avatar. Things like that don't just happen to people. _And yet,_ said a tiny voice in the back of her mind, _that would explain a few things, wouldn't it? Like the Banyan…_

The looked at the tiny seedling at her feet, and made the connection. "That's the Great Banyan I just planted, isn't it?"

"That tree was planted three thousand years ago by Avatar Ancha," said Aang seriously. "But it remembered him all this time."

Zhi suddenly felt weak, and fell to her knees. She was the Avatar. The _Avatar_. The divine medium that had descended upon the mortal world. A god in human form. How was that even possible?

"What do I do?" she whispered, looking up hopelessly at Aang. "What happens now?"

"Now? You wake up. Good luck, Zhi."

And before Zhi could reply, the world around her melted away like so much mist, all sensation leaving. She was drifting, afloat in a void, and fear clutched at her heart. Thoughts and images drifted through her head, strange yet familiar faces and places and events, all jumbled up, until she wasn't sure who she was any more. Then she became aware of a voice.

"Atka, my Atka. My little Atka…"

Zhi frowned inwardly. That voice was familiar…

"After all this time… it's you, it's really you. There's hope after all. Baby… my baby…"

With a great amount of effort, Zhi cranked her eyes open, and saw a kind face looking down at her, blue eyes set into a light brown face and framed by brown hair. The face smiled, and, her mind still full of thoughts and memories that were not her own, Zhi was certain that it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

"You're awake!"

Zhi blinked, and the rest of the world began to filter in through her senses. It wasn't pleasant. She was lying down on a rough surface, burning pain all along her arms. She could hear muttering voices, and smelled smoke. She groaned.

"Oh, baby. You're hurt. Here, let me," came the voice, which Zhi now recognized as Kat's. Someone pressed a handful of cool water onto Zhi's throbbing arm, and the pain immediately eased.

"What happened?" Zhi managed, her voice coming out in a pathetic croak. "The fire…"

"You saved us, Zhi. That's what happened. You saved us."

Zhi paused, and looked up at Kat. "I'm the Avatar?" It was more of a question than a statement, as if Zhi was looking for confirmation, something to tell her if her dream had been real or not.

Kat smiled, and her eyes shone. "Yes, you are. Oh, child!"

Zhi suddenly found herself being embraced, and gasped as Kat's arm squeezed the burns on her other side. Kat immediately let go, apologizing quickly, and moved the healing water to her other arm. "What happened to the Banyan?"

Kat's face fell. "You don't know? After you took out the balloons, it went back to where it was before and rooted itself back down. But… it burned. It's just a snag now."

"Oh no," Zhi whispered in horror. The Great Banyan was dead? Then what was going to happen to the swamp? What was the point of anything, then? If the Banyan was dead, the Fire Empire had won. Unless…

"Wait. What do you mean, I took out the balloons?"

Kat smiled gently, still healing Zhi's various burns. "You were able to access the Avatar Spirit and bend the Banyan. You were magnificent! You destroyed almost the entire balloon fleet before the rest of the cowards retreated."

"I… I did?" Zhi's mind was spinning. It was too much information all at once, and she felt heady. How could she have bent the Banyan? She couldn't plantbend at all! Why didn't she remember doing any of this? She remembered the vision she'd had of Aang, and suddenly felt cold. Had she lost control of her body?

"Zhi."

Zhi felt a callused hand on her shoulder and suddenly realized that she and Kat were surrounded by onlookers. She looked up into Yong's serious face, and sighed.

"Yong, I'm the Avatar." The words sounded alien on her lips as she tried them out, and felt more like an admission of defeat than one of triumph.

"I know, Zhi. I saw. Can you stand up?"

Zhi got slowly to her feet, aware that everyone was staring at her. She crossed her arms self-consciously and turned her head away.

"Why… why is everyone looking at me?" she whispered to Kat, feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

"You're the Avatar," said Kat. "Say something."

Zhi blinked. They were looking to _her_? To tell them what to do? But she wasn't a leader! She was no different than she was yesterday, when everyone was ignoring her and leaving her with the children! Still, she tried.

"I, uh, um, shouldn't we put out the, you know, fires?"

Kat nodded, and turned to the crowd. "Everyone, we need to get back to work on quenching the fires! All those of you who can bend, go with the crews and pull down all the trees that are still burning. We can't let the whole swamp burn to the ground. Those of you who can't bend, fan out and see if we can find any the balloons that went down. The redbellies in them might have survived."

The crowds immediately began to disperse, although they kept looking back at Zhi. Even Yong left. Zhi felt Kat put her hands on her shoulders, and turned to face the rebel leader. She still felt terribly confused, the thoughts running through her head all mixed and disorderly. When everyone had left, Kat spoke.

"Oh, just let me look at you, Zhi. Just let me _look_ at you."

_You know what I look like_, thought Zhi, as Kat scrutinized her. But she did not voice her thoughts, and allowed Kat's eyes to roam over her.

"Kat," she finally said, "What's going on?"

Kat had tears in her eyes, and quickly wiped them away. "Oh, Zhi. I don't know how to say this… it's completely unbelievable… but a long time ago, back when I first joined the resistance, I had a child, a daughter, who was the Avatar. But I lost her."

Zhi gulped. She could see what was coming, like a tree falling, but there was no way to stop the impact.

"Her name was Atka. And she is you."

Zhi's thoughts ground to a halt. On top of everything else, that was just the last straw, and she simply stared, her mouth gaping slightly in shock.

"I loved you so much, Atka," said Kat, her voice becoming earnest. "I didn't mean to lose you. But you fell from Appa's back, and I thought… I thought the worst. I am so, so happy that you're alive. You're healthy? Your adoptive parents treated you well?"

Zhi simply blinked, unable to formulate an answer. Of all the things she'd expected to find in the rebel camp, her birth mother was not one of them. It was almost more of a shock than finding out she was the Avatar.

"W-what?" she finally managed, though she had understood Kat perfectly.

"I'm your mother, Atka. I know I haven't been there, but… please, I want to be… we can be a family."

"Who's my father?" asked Zhi, finding her voice. "Is it Jet?"

Kat smiled distantly. "Aang was your father."

Zhi stared. "That _kid?"_ she suddenly blurted. How did that even _work?_

Kat laughed. "Not literally. It was a Spirit World thing."

_A spirit world thing?_ Zhi decided that she didn't want to know. She took a deep breath to clear her head, and let it out slowly. "I need to think," she said. "This is a lot to take in."

"Of course." Kat put an arm around her, surprising Zhi with the familiarity of the touch. "Let's get you back to the base camp. You need to rest."

Zhi nodded, suddenly feeling utterly exhausted. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah,"

* * *

Orli walked and crawled along the great branches that connected one tree to another in the canopy of the swamp, careful to avoid the still-spreading fires. He had only been able to watch with a sick stomach as the giant tree decimated the second-generation balloon fleet, all the painstaking work done by the engineers of Fort Sawa turned to wrecks of cloth and scrap metal. He stole a glance over to the tree where it had re-rooted itself, its trunk and terrible branches now blackened and leafless. _I guess it was a tie_, he thought morbidly. _Both sides lost._

He still felt badly about leaving the mechanic behind, though he knew that there was no way he could have gotten to the ground, much less made a proper pyre for a send-off. The best he could do was vow that the entire swamp would one day burn to the ground, so he would at least get the cremation he deserved. _And it might burn sooner rather than later,_ he thought, eyeing the columns of smoke still rising over the swamp. Agni willing, he would be able to make it to Fort Sawa before then.

Orli was learning much more about the swamp trees than he had ever imagined he would. They were all connected by branches overhead, and started life as aerial roots dropping down from above. It was a very strange way to grow, from the top down, but then everything about the swamp was strange. He'd stumbled across a nest of birds while climbing, which had screamed at him so loudly he'd nearly lost his grip, and the baleful gaze of monkeycoons followed him everywhere. He was also learning about climbing, and about how unwieldy Fire Empire armor was in the trees.

By the time he found an aerial root that seemed sturdy enough for him to shimmy down, Orli had shed most of his armor, including his boots, helmet, and chestplate. So when his feet finally touched the muddy ground, he was clad in only his undertunic and pants. And it was a good thing too, for one of the first things he did on the ground was stumble into a patch of quickmud, marked clearly by the rebel's bark scratchings but utterly incomprehensible to him, and if he'd been wearing his armor he surely would have been unable to haul himself out. And it was fortunate that he did stumble into the mud unarmored, so that he was unrecognizable to the scouting party who found him and, presuming his filthy countenance to be that of a swamp-dweller, simply told him to get back to the base camp to help with repairs. So it was a very muddy, tired, hungry, frustrated, but overall _lucky_ Orli who reached Fort Sawa that evening.

Orli looked out at the darkening swamp from his barrack. Approximately two-dozen balloons had been lost, each one holding two passengers, and only one other soldier had made it out as Orli had. He had been knocked down by the tree itself, and had gotten a much closer view of what was really going on. The tree, he had reported, had been holding an orb of light in its branches, and inside the light had been a person, directing the tree's movements.

Orli was too young to understand the significance of this, but his commanders weren't. The message to the Fire Emperor was penned and sent before the dawn broke the next day.

But this was all far from Orli's mind. He was thinking of Ary, and wondering if he had any idea how close Orli had come to death that day. He was wondering if he should write to his father, a chore that he had been avoiding as much as humanly possible. He was wondering if the mud in his hair would ever come out. And he was starting, just starting, to question how far his Empire would be willing to go to subdue a swamp where the trees themselves fought back.

The haze from the smoke in the air, he reflected, made for a beautiful sunset.

* * *

Zhi brought up a sphere of water and doused another burning tree with a hiss of steam. It was the next day, and parts of the swamp were still burning. Earth- and waterbending teams had been working on smothering the flames all night, and a vast area of the swamp had been lost, including that part of the base camp that was in the trees. Zhi had spent the night in an underground bunker that needed periodic draining to keep it from filing up with groundwater, and had barely gotten any sleep. There were just too many thoughts going through her head.

Kanu, after being told, had seemed as shocked as Zhi had been, staring at his new sister. He had heard of Atka, of course, and mourned her as well as anyone could mourn a relative they didn't know. But she wasn't real to him. She was an idea, a figure, the innocent Avatar lost by chance, a spirit who hovered over everyone. And she was something to be searched for, in the form of the next, earthbending Avatar, who was assumed to exist somewhere out there. But was she real, like Zhi was real, alive and breathing and bending spit into your face to prove herself? No, never!

Idlu had wanted proof that she was the Avatar, having not seen the way she had animated the Banyan, and when she failed to produce any earth-, fire- or airbending he proclaimed that she was a faker, in that particularly suspicious manner he had. It needed to be explained to him that the Avatar couldn't bend all four elements right off the bat. They needed to learn.

Zhi wiped the sweat from her brow and sighed. Waterbending was hard enough, and now she needed to learn all four elements? Including one taught only by the enemy and one that was a lost art? Avatars of the past, Kat told her, had devoted their early life to learning all the elements, at the expense of everything else. Zhi gulped. Could she do that? She didn't feel like she had it in her.

There was no time to think. The next tree was coming down, and Zhi needed to get with the other waterbenders to put it out.

Zhi could feel the stares from the other benders as she worked. Everyone stared at her now, even if they'd seen her a hundred times before. Zhi couldn't shake the feeling that they were judging her, scrutinizing her. _This girl is the Avatar?_ she imagined them thinking. _Some Avatar she is!_

"Atka, what are you doing here?"

Zhi turned at Kat's voice. "I'm helping," she replied, thinking that it was obvious, and wishing that the rebel leader would stop calling her 'Atka.'

"It's far too dangerous! Who let you help?"

"But you said that all benders need to help, and I'm rested now, and-"

"But you're the Avatar! You're far too valuable to risk fighting forest fires."

Kat put her hands on Zhi's shoulders and turned her away from the flames. Her voice softened. "We need to keep you safe."

Kat's voice sounded very tired, and when Zhi looked into her face she could see bags under her eyes. _Has she been working all night?_

Kat led Zhi back to the camp, all the while keeping at least one hand in contact with her, as if afraid that if she wasn't in physical contact with Zhi, she would disappear. "I spoke to Shou, and I'll be training you from now on," she was saying. "We can start as soon as the fires are put out."

"Oh… thank you," replied Zhi, feeling oddly uncomfortable.

Zhi and Kat stepped around the sentinel catfish-gator, and into the camp. The base camp looked very different now; the verdant foliage that had kept it in constant gloom had all burnt away, and the sun shone down on the blackened branches and snags. The upper layer of the camp had burned, but the huts on the ground had survived. A lot of rebuilding would be needed.

At the camp's center was a group of captured and restrained Fire Empire soldiers and mechanics. Zhi's stomach gave a little twist at the sight of them. They were the enemy, the people they were fighting against, and here they were in the camp! Zhi knew that they were no danger to her now, but still.

Some of them were injured, their wounds clumsily bandaged. They could have been healed by the waterbenders within minutes, of course, but it was easier to control them if they were functioning at less than full performance. They leaned against each other around the central fire, some with eyes open and others seemingly asleep. A group of the swamp children surrounded them, let by Kanu, and they were jeering at the prisoners. Jet was there too, leaning against a trunk and watching idly as the children taunted.

"Hey!" called Kanu. "Hey! You! With the big nose! Is there something wrong with your arm? Yeah there is, isn't there, ya damn redbelly? That's 'cause we won, and you lost! Hey! Let's see some firebending! Try firebending now, just try it! Just try burning the swamp down now, ya damn redbelly!"

"Redbelly!" shrieked the other children, and one threw a stick at the prisoners. "Redbelly!"

"Kanu! Where did you learn such language?" Kat frowned at her son and crossed her arms. She shot Jet a dirty look, and he shrugged.

"Wasn't me."

"Sorry mom," said Kanu, looking chastised.

Kat frowned thoughtfully and turned to Jet. "I need to speak with you."

Jet nodded. "Kanu. Why don't you watch the prisoners by yourself for a while? Kat and I are going into the planning hut. And don't rough them up too badly, alright?"

Kanu's eyes went wide. "Yes, Dad! I mean, yes, sir! I mean, I will!"

Kat frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Kanu's a good kid. He'll be fine."

Kat smiled at Zhi. "You can come with us, Atka."

Zhi was startled. This was the first time she'd been invited into the planning hut since she had arrived at the swamp. Was this all because she was the Avatar? But she was no different! She didn't deserve special treatment; she hadn't _chosen_ this! She didn't even _do_ anything, really. She had just fallen unconscious and something else had taken over…

In the planning hut, Zhi looked up at the two rebel leaders, and realized that this was the first time she had seen Jet since the attack. He had an odd look on his face, friendly but calculating. "So," he said slowly. "Avatar Zhi. Who would have known? Well, it is an honor."

"Please, Jet," said Zhi. "I'm not… I mean… I'm the same person. It's really no more an honor than it was before."

Jet smiled. "No need to be modest. You did save the whole swamp, after all."

Zhi turned her head away. Was she really a hero? She didn't feel like it.

"Now," Jet's face was suddenly serious. "The fires are nearly put out. We need to figure out our next move."

"We need to keep Atka safe," said Kat immediately.

"Of course we do. She's the Avatar." Jet turned his head to Zhi slightly. "But we need to give you time to reach your full potential, if you are to be effective in the fight. The Avatar State, from what I've heard, is very difficult to access, correct?"

"I don't know, really," said Zhi, realizing that he was talking to her. "I don't know anything about this stuff. It just kind of happened."

"But is it within your conscious control? Could you, for example, go to the Empire's fort right now and blow it to pieces?"

"What!" cried Kat. "No! The Avatar State only comes in times of great danger and distress. Aang was never able to do it at the drop of a coin."

Jet sighed. "Fine. Then you'll have to learn the elements the old fashioned way."

Kat nodded. "That's what we were going to do with Aang, and it's just as good an idea now."

"That's why I think Zhi should leave the swamp."

"No." Kat stood up and glared at Jet. "No, she's not leaving. How could you even suggest such a thing? We just found her! It's dangerous out there!"

"Well, it's dangerous in here too," replied Jet coldly. "And Zhi's display with the Banyan, while effective, was a bit _noticeable_. We'd be fools to think that the Empire hasn't guessed that we have the Avatar. Kat." He reached over and put his hand on her shoulder. "It's for her own safety."

Kat opened her mouth as if to object, then dropped her head. "Please," she said, and her voice was very quiet. "Just… let her stay a little while longer. Please. For me."

By this point, Zhi felt very uncomfortable, and wasn't sure if she should speak up or not.

"Kat, it just isn't safe to have all our eggs in one basket. We're too centralized right now. We need to spread out."

Then Kat straightened, and looked Jet in the eye. "If she leaves, I'm going with her."

Jet frowned. "You don't mean that."

"I do. I need to teach her waterbending."

"We can find someone else to do that. We need you here. You would just leave Kanu and Idlu and everyone behind?"

Kat scowled. He'd called her bluff, and she looked down, defeated.

"I get to choose who is entrusted with Atka," she said finally. "I won't hand her off to just anyone."

"Agreed. Guarding the Avatar is of prime importance."

Sensing a lull in the conversation, Zhi cleared her throat and spoke up. "Um… if I leave the swamp, where will I go?"

Jet and Kat looked up, as if they'd forgotten she was there. Jet stroked his beard in thought. "It would probably be best if you kept moving, so the Empire won't be able to get a fix on you. So we'll need someone to go with you who knows the wilderness."

"And who's a skilled bender," said Kat. "Someone who can teach Atka everything."

"You're in charge of the benders, so I'll leave it up to you," said Jet. "The sooner the better."

Kat nodded, then took Zhi's hand. "Come on, Atka. Let's check on how Kanu's doing."

"Kat…" said Zhi hesitantly, wondering if she was doing the right thing. "My name's Zhi."

"Oh." Kat's shoulders seemed to slump slightly. "Of course. I… I'm sorry."

The two of them walked out of the hut, but Zhi could feel Jet's eyes on her back.

* * *

Zhi lay in bed that night, exhausted from waterbending with Kat. The rebel leader was amazing, it couldn't be denied, and Zhi's arms ached just from trying to keep up with the speed and elegance with which she moved from form to form. Kat had been with her all day, and had only let Zhi out of her sight when it was time for bed. Zhi closed her eyes. She could feel a strange buzz in the back of her mind, a throbbing, rushing sound, like water, like…

Zhi sat up, suddenly very much alert. It couldn't be, could it?

She rolled out of her cot and threw on her shoes, heart beating fast. She had to see, had to make sure.

It was dark, even with light from the torch that she grabbed, but she knew the way as well as if she'd walked it a thousand times, instead of just twice. She stood before the wreckage of the Great Banyan, and peered up at its empty branches far above. It _looked_ dead, but…

Zhi pressed her hand to the charred bark, and tried to silence her thoughts. She could hear something, but it was so quiet, so far away.

But it was there, steady and thrumming beneath all the ash. Life was there, in the roots, untouched by the fire. Zhi smiled. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope.

* * *

"My Emperor."

Fire Emperor Zuko gestured at the man prone before him, and he rose. "My deepest condolences to your loss. Iroh was truly a great man."

Zuko nodded, keeping his face impassive. Those words were on every noble's lips nowadays, it seemed, even of those who had barely known Iroh. They were quickly losing their meaning.

"Report."

"The railroad construction in the northern Earth Protectorate is going very smoothly, my Lord. We have bridged the Hu Xing river and are working steadily across the Qiao mountain range in the north. We may very well reach Ba Sing Se by the end of the year."

Zuko nodded. "And the southern rail?"

The administrator gulped. "I'm afraid it's not going quite as well, my Lord. Rebel forces are strong in the south, and it is very difficult to keep the refueling stations intact. I… do not see Nusku being linked with Ba Sing Se any time soon."

Zuko sighed and rubbed his temples. Why did things have to be so difficult? The rebels were only hurting the Earth Protectorate by stopping the trade lines, didn't they see that? It was foolish!

"Emperor!" A courier suddenly ran in, clutching a scroll. He dropped into a deep bow, then straightened. "There is an important message!"

"Can't it wait?" Asked Zuko with a frown. "I am meeting with Administrator-"

"It's a black-ribbon message, my Lord."

Zuko stopped in mid-sentence. A black-ribbon message? Those hadn't been used since the war ended…

The courier stepped up to Zuko's throne and offered the scroll with another bow. Zuko took it. "If you would excuse me," he said to the administrator, and read the scroll. His good eye went wide.

Zuko leaned forward suddenly, and closed his eyes, many thoughts swirling through his head. Finally, he spoke to the courier.

"Get me a hawk," he said. "And send a message to Zhao."


End file.
